In addition to the watches, a slew of important timepieces will be auctioned in Guy Laliberté's One Drop auction.

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In December, Phillips will be hosting another major auction with Guy Laliberté, the Canadian billionaire founder of Cirque de Soleil, and Prince Albert II of Monaco's Foundation as partners. In addition to auctioning off important timepieces, both Laliberté's One Drop Foundation, a non-profit that provides clean water, sanitation, and hygiene to vulnerable communities, and the Prince's charity, which focuses on bringing about environmental change around climate change, biodiversity, and water resources, will be receiving the proceeds from the auction. In addition to the “Time Counts” auction, which will take place in collaboration with Phillips on December 12th as a section within the “Racing Pulse” New York sale, there are also four unique Audemars Piguets from Laliberté, a provenance Jaeger-LeCoultre piece from Bono of the band, a Rolex Daytona from Kevin O'Leary of Shark Tank, and four unique Audemars Piguets from Bono, among others.

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A framed drawing of Bono's lyrics to "The First Time" is included with Bono's 18-karat pink gold watch, valued at $1,000-$2,000. 

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While O'Leary was a well-known watch collector, he was, surprisingly, willing to sell his Rolex Cosmograph Daytona reference 116500LN for between $8,000 and $12,000. Featuring a red strap, the watch is a trademark of the businessman and TV personality who is known for wearing the color on his big screen for its attention-grabbing appearance. Thanks to mutual friends, Laliberté acquired him as an employee.

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It is, however, the Audemars Piguet watches sold by Laliberté that are the most serious horological timepieces. His annual auction fundraiser has been an opportunity for him to offer important watches from the Swiss watch company, but this year he provided four 1/1 unique timepieces, in addition to the celebrity donations.

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A limited number of winning bidders will have the chance to win one of the four openworked Audemars Piguet Royal Oaks, freshly serviced by the Swiss watchmaker, available in a combination of steel, yellow gold, rose gold, and white gold. Aside from the original wooden box, which comes with all the papers, and the custom-made One Drop boxes, all of these items are valued at between $200k and $400k.

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In addition to the VVIP collector timepieces, Laliberté also cited royal assistance as part of his commitment. A unique Urwerk reference UR-106 $50,000-$100,000 and a Montre Rebellion Predator 2.0 $10k-$20k are up for auction by the Prince of Monaco, whereas a Royal Oak "Jumbo" reference is up for auction by his foundation. Stainless steel 15202 with his name engraved on the caseback for $20-40,000. In addition to their short-term goals, the pair is said to be collaborating on a long-term project funded by the auction proceeds.

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As well as the Porsche Design Orfina Chronograph $1,000-$2,000 that keyboardist Rory Kaplan wore throughout his career, British Formula One race car driver David Coulthard donated a $6,000-$12,000 IWC Big Pilot. In 2021, Jackie Stewart, the Formula One legend, will be available at the Monaco Grand Prix for $15,000-$30,000, so that's the icing on the cake for both automobile and watch enthusiasts alike. In addition to being a longtime watch enthusiast, Laliberté is also an avid race-car driver, and his son, Kami Laliberté, is a close family buddy.

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A genuine Jaeger-LeCoultre from Bono, with its provenance alone, is wildly undervalued, so we recommend getting in on the action. For serious watch collectors, Laliberté's Audemars Piguets deserve top billing. A tip we'd like to share with you: In 2009, while raising awareness for his foundation as part of his Social Poetic Mission, the mogul wore a unique AP on his hands for 11 days while in the International Space Station. He says he plans to keep the Royal Oak Grande Complication in titanium and black stainless steel for life, but if the price is right, a private bid is certainly not discouraged.