Important Watches

On 11 May, the Important Watches sale totalled SFr. 15,492,975/ $16,447,342 / €14,738,467, selling 99% by value and 95% by lot. The top lot of the sale was a Patek Philippe, platinum double-dial Sky Moon Tourbillon wristwatch with twelve complications, Ref. 5002P, manufactured in 2006, which sold comfortably within its estimate for SFr.1,085,000 /$1,151,836 (lot 136). The Christie’s Geneva saleroom welcomed a total of 566 registrants in the room, on the telephone and via the internet.

Thomas Perazzi, Head of Christie's Geneva Watch Department, declared: “The sale offered 70% fresh to the market watches and 80% of the 314 lots were consigned by private clients. These two facts attracted an international clientele to Christie’s Geneva, bidding fiercely over the six hour-long auction. The sale result of SFr. 15.5 million exceeded our high estimate, underlining the very healthy state of the watch market, which is looking for the unique and special watches such as the platinum and diamond set Patek Philippe Nautilus selling for SFr. 845,000 quadrupling its pre- sale estimate of SFr. 200,000. Overall we saw enthusiastic bidding for watches of the best quality which had been hand-selected for this auction by Christie’s international team of specialists. We welcomed an impressive depth of bidding with buyers from 32 countries, from all continents, and nine different private collectors were represented in the top 10 and one museum, The Audemars Piguet Museum, securing lot 204, the only one known and large minute repeating wristwatch, ref. 5528, setting a new world auction record for a minute repeating wristwatch by the firm, for its stunning premises in Geneva.”