Selected timepieces from the collection of Michael Schumacher, one of the most successful drivers in Formula 1 history, will come up at Christie’s in Geneva in May. Marking the 30th anniversary of Michael Schumacher’s first Formula 1 Drivers Championship win in 1994 the Rare Watches auction on May 13 at the Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues in Geneva, will include a section dedicated to this group of watches, highlighting key moments in his career, demonstrating the unique quality of this collection. The unique F.P. Journe Vagabondage 1 Model timepiece, dating from circa 2004 pictured here features a bespoke dial and an engraved personal gift dedication on the 18k gold movement. The stunning red dial immediately captures attention – around its circumference are symbols representing Michael Schumacher’s seven F1 World Championship victories achieved by 2004 and includes Schumacher’s racing helmet together with the Ferrari emblem.
Before he suffered catastrophic injuries in a ski accident in 2013 Michael Schumacher, in conjunction with Schuberth helmets, helped develop the first lightweight carbon fibre reinforced polymer helmet for racing drivers. In 2004, a prototype was publicly tested by being driven over by a tank; it survived intact. The helmet kept the driver cool by funnelling directed airflow through fifty holes. Schumacher was a special ambassador to UNESCO and donated to the organisation while other charitable and philanthropic work included the construction of a school for poor underprivileged children and for area improvements in Dakar, Senegal – support for a hospital for child victims of the siege in Sarajevo, which specialises in caring for amputees – in Lima, Peru, he funded the Palace for the Poor, a centre for helping homeless street children. Schumacher also donated $10 million for aid efforts after the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, surpassing that of many worldwide corporations and even some countries. From 2002 to 2006, he donated further millions to various charities. Schumacher also gave support to other campaigns, such as Make Roads Safe, to recognise global road deaths as a major global health issue. In 2017 his family founded the Keep Fighting Foundation to continue the charitable work that has always been so important to him.
