Watches, Stories, & Gear: A Watch Auction Benefiting The World Central Kitchen’s Efforts In and Around Ukraine

We’re dedicating this edition of Watches, Stories, & Gear in its entirety to a watch auction being organized by our friends at RedBar and Revolution for the benefit of the World Central Kitchen. This organization has been on the ground in and around Ukraine feeding people in regions affected by conflict, and bringing aid to those looking to flee. 

The World Central Kitchen was founded by Chef José Andrés in 2010 after an earthquake devastated Haiti. Since then, Andrés and his team have “created a new model for disaster relief helping devastated communities recover and establish resilient food systems.” When conflict began affecting regions of Ukraine, the WCK wasted no time in hitting the ground to reach those in need. Read more about the work they’re doing in full right here.

https://twitter.com/WCKitchen/status/1498499556991922176?s=20&t=81EzXnNfE3wPw1YdrAKFFA

CEO of RedBar Group, Kathleen McGivney, on finding a way to help:

“As I saw the events in Ukraine unfolding, I wanted to do something to help. I had the idea to do a watch auction to support World Central Kitchen’s efforts in and around Ukraine, so I reached out to Wei Koh of Revolution and asked him if he’d like to join forces to help. He immediately said yes, and we both got started with outreach to brands and collectors to donate pieces for the auction. 

The response from the industry and the community has been absolutely incredible. I’m thrilled and heartened by the outpouring of support and am excited to see how much we can raise to support World Central Kitchen and their ongoing work on the ground distributing nourishing food and fresh meals across the region.”

Here’s how you can help. Head over to Loupe This and register for an account so you’re ready to get in on the bidding action when watches go live on the 25th. Side note, Loupe This, co-founded by renowned watch dealer, Eric Ku, regularly has pretty awesome watches cycle through their platform so this is something you’d want to do regardless. Keep an eye on RedBar and Revolution’s Instagram account for updates to the watches that will be offered, and plan your bidding strategy accordingly. Once March 25th comes around, head over to Loupe This and get your bidding on. 

If you miss out on the watch you had an eye on, don’t stress it, you can still help out by going directly to the World Central Kitchen website and hit the big Donate button at the top right of the page. 

Until then, here’s a sneak peak at just some of the watches you can expect to see come to auction:

Seiko 5 Sports X Worn & Wound 10th Anniversary Limited Edition #1,000 of 1,000

We were saving this one for something special, and are thrilled to be helping out with this auction to benefit the World Central Kitchen. This is the final example of the now sold out Seiko 5 Sports X Worn & Wound 10th Anniversary Limited Edition, with numbered caseback. You can read all about this watch and its meaning to the history of Worn & Wound right here, and if you missed your chance to snag one on release, this is the perfect opportunity to land the very last of them, all while doing some good in the process. 

RedBar x Maurice Lacroix Pontos S Diver Limited Edition #3 of 10

This is number three of only ten pieces made of the first RedBar watch from 2016, the sold out RedBar x Maurice Lacroix Pontos S Diver. The piece comes from RedBar CEO Kathleen McGivney’s personal collection, and features red accents on the dial, hands, and strap stitching, as well as RedBar’s logo on the numbered caseback. Kathleen is only willing to part with it to support the vital work being done by World Central Kitchen.

Baltic Bicompax Pulso for Revolution & The Rake Limited Edition 1 of 100

Wei Koh of Revolution always gets number 1 of each of their limited editions, and this recent LE launched in December 2021 is no exception. Wei is donating this piece, with its beautiful double-finished sector dial and pulsations scale, from his personal collection to support this initiative.

RedBar x Frederique Constant Highlife Automatic COSC Limited Edition #100 of 100

The most recent RedBar collaboration with Frederique Constant was launched in 2020. This piece is the Automatic COSC version, and as it says in the name, it’s COSC-certified to meet chronometer accuracy standards, and features a dark grey dial with subtle touches of red, and the RedBar logo on the exhibition caseback. It’s being donated from the personal collection of Atom Moore, RedBar’s longtime photographer, and is number 100 of 100 pieces produced.