Important Watches - The Dubai Sale

Bidding in the Dubai Important Watch auction at Christie’s was fast and furious with collectors from  around the region gathering to compete for the 123 lots which sold collectively for $3,097,313 (AED11,376,430), above the high estimate of $2.9 million. One of only ten known examples of Patek Philippe's iconic reference 5971, the bezel decorated with 42 baguette-cut emeralds weighing approx. 3.33 carats, fetched the highest price when it sold for $341,000 / AED1,252,493. The watches followed last night’s stellar sale of modern and contemporary art which realized $10.6 million, making a combined total of $13,745,563 for the sales this spring. Christie’s 16th consecutive sale season in the Middle East, was the first to be held to coincide with Dubai Art Week with 20% of those registered to bid in the sales new to Christie’s.