As a response to the growing pressure on the organization to provide more transparency, the Association Monégasque contre les Myopathies (AMM) has decided to postpone the 10th edition of the Only Watch auction to next year (it was originally scheduled for November 5, 2023). In the last couple of months, more and more questions were raised on social media about the allocation of the millions raised in the years before, the scientific progress and the governance of the AMM.
While AMM did recently provide some answers regarding its the funding strategies, the structures and projects supported, and the association’s accounts and budget, AMM has now come to the conclusion, that “the time for certification, changes in governance and the imminent auction do not coincide.” To further quote today’s press release: “We cannot bring ourselves to cast doubt on the sincerity of the commitment of all the parties involved in this project, nor can we allow this wonderful story to be rewritten.” While one of the participating watch brands has publicly shown its continuing support in the past days, at least one watchmaker had already cancelled its participation and watch donation for the 2023 edition of Only Watch.
Only Watch was created in 2005 by Luc Pettavino to “raise funds for research on Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy“ (a genetic disease that concerns 1 in 3,500 boys and weakens progressively all their muscles and that affected Luc and Monique’s son) by auctioning one-off timepieces. Since the first auction in 2005, the bi-annual event has raised $100 million (as of November 2021), and approximately half of that amount has been allocated so far.
“We will continue to move forward, providing even more information on the virtuous and extraordinary actions we have achieved thanks to this dynamic. The agility that characterizes us has enabled us to make exceptional progress. One of our greatest joys is knowing, as we write these lines, that a group of children and young adults have been included in a clinical trial made possible by the Only Watch funds. It’s tangible, concrete and gives hope of a cure. That’s what’s important.”
Luc Pettavino, founder of OW and Chairman of AMM
In 2010, after 18 years of overseeing one of the most successful yacht shows worldwide, Pettavino had decided to step down from his role at the Monaco Yacht Show to “dedicate more time to my various non-profit initiatives, mainly related to Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.” In 2019, a Special Jury Prize from the GPHG was given to him for his “contribution to the watchmaking world via the organization of the Only Watch charity auction.”
Follow this link for the organization’s announcement regarding the postponement of Only Watch 2023.