A Unique Gold Philippe Dufour Led Geneva’s Fall Watch Auctions to $117 Million in Sales
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The Geneva watch auctions held by Sotheby’s, Christie’s, and Phillips over the weekend and early this week raked in a total of $117,704,660, about $4 million over last year’s total for the three auction houses. The sales included the usual rarities that draw high-level collectors. As expected, rare Patek Philippes and Rolexes topped the charts, including plenty of Nautiluses and Daytonas. But aside from that, the Geneva auctions were a parade of rare and one-of-a-kind hand-crafted pieces made by elite independent watchmakers, some of which we may never see again at auction, or at least not for some time. The Phillips Geneva Watch Auction: XVII totaled $43,074,538. The Sotheby’s Important Watches sale in Geneva topped out at $12,588,526, and Christie’s racked up a whopping $62,041,596 in combined sales from its Rare Watches sale ($19,625,499) and the Passion of Time private collection ($42,418,914).
The weekend sales were not without controversy. On the one hand, there was one sale missing: the Only Watch Auction, run by Christie’s, which was postponed until 2024, giving it time to complete an audit confirming the allocation of the funds (about $100 million) it has raised so far. The audit comes at the request of collectors and brands demanding more transparency. The second controversy surrounded Christie’s Passion of Time sale, the private collection of Mohammed Zaman. At the last minute, a third-party guarantor entered the picture, obliging Christie’s to substantially increase pre-sale estimates. Third-party guarantors, common in the art world, set a minimum price for particular pieces. If the lot sells for over that price, the guarantor stands to profit. If bids fall short of the price, the guarantor has to cover the difference and take the watch at the guaranteed price. Essentially, it’s like placing a bet on the auction. Customers in the room and remote bidders were reportedly not happy with the last-minute adjustments, on which they had based their research, and which delayed the sale by nearly an hour.
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Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo ended its two-year streak of white glove sales over the weekend at its Geneva Watch Auction: XVIII—one lot didn’t sell—but it sold $43,074,538 worth of watches, doubling the pre-sale low estimate. To no one’s surprise, a Patek Philippe Nautilus, one of only three known to be made in platinum, was the top lot, selling for CHF 2,540,500 ($2,801,917), a world record for the model. The ref. 3700 “Jumbo” is a heavy one, with a solid platinum bracelet and 42 mm case. The fact that it’s double signed, with a Gübelin signature on the dial, makes it one-of-a-kind. Phillips describes it as the “king of all examples” of the legendary sports/luxury watch, designed in the ’70s by Gerald Genta.
Second up was a rare Rolex 6062 triple calendar moonphase, which took a winning bid of CHF 2,117,000 ($2,334,839). A record for the reference in stainless steel. Originally launched at the Basel fair in 1950, Phillips says it is the best-preserved 6062 they’ve seen in recent years – and they see a lot of watches – commenting that they “believe it has seen very little wrist time since its creation.”
Rounding out the top three was a Patek Philippe yellow gold Ref. 2499 perpetual calendar chronograph, identified as a “first-series” model made in 1951 because of its case made by Vichet and square pushers. It sold for CHF 2,104.900 ($2,321,494).
The most important independent watch in the sale was a George Daniels Anniversary Platinum No 1, one of only four pieces, which sold for CHF 1,143,000 ($1,260,614); an F.P. Journe Sonnerie Souverain for CHF 1,079,500 ($1,190,580); and a Richard Mille RM27-01 Rafael Nadal (tourbillon) for CHF 952,500 ($1,050,512). There were also many other Rolex and Patek Philippe models, for more affordable prices.
Sotheby’s Important Watches sale in Geneva totaled $12,588,526, and was led by not one but two pieces created by George Daniels, considered the master of all independents, in collaboration with Roger Smith, who trained with Daniels and is considered his spiritual heir. One of them, named the Millennium watch, co-signed by the two watchmakers (the first ever signed by Smith), sold for $2,422,142, a record for a Roger Smith piece. It was his personal watch for a decade. The second was the Anniversary watch, the first produced in Daniels’s final series. The watch, Smith’s single wheel variant of Daniels’ original double-wheeled Co-Axial, was one of 47 made in the series, and one of 35 in yellow gold. It sold for $819,357.
And what would a watch auction be without one or two oddities, especially from an otherwise conventional maker? In this sale, it was a Patek Philippe with a dial decorated with real butterfly wings The ref. 4117/1G Blue Butterfly Wings Dial sold for $84,761, which according to Sotheby’s is a world record for the reference – yes, there are others; four, in fact, have come to auction so far. They were made in 1972. In case you were wondering, no butterflies were harmed in the making of the 4117. According to Sotheby’s notes, “the wings were recycled from the remains of a widely available butterfly specimen.”
Christie’s held two sales in Geneva this week: “Passion For Time,” the private collection of Mohammed Zaman, which totaled $42,418,914, and the Rare Watches watch sale, totaling $19,625,499, for an eye-popping total of $62,041,596. The Zaman collection was an incredible, probably once-in-a-lifetime assembly of unique and one-of-a-kind pieces from an impressive array of top independent makers, plus some of the most highly sought-after Patek Philippe and Rolex models that have come up at sales in recent years. Zaman clearly had a love for Patek Philippe Nautilus models—a gold Nautilus ref. 3700/1, made for the Sultanate of Oman sold for CHF 1,134,000 (about $1,259,556) The Rolexes in the collection were mostly platinum, diamond-set or rare Daytonas, and vintage complications all in pristine condition. The third-highest lot was a beautifully preserved pink gold Rolex Triple calendar ref. 6062 with a Stelline dial (star hour markers).
The top lot in the Passion for Time sale was a one-of-a-kind Philippe Dufour Grande & Petite Sonnerie No.1 in 18k yellow gold that sold for CHF 5,127,000 (about $5.7 million). Second was a provenance-based winner, a 1972 Rolex GMT-Master worn by Marlon Brando in the film “Apocalypse Now” selling for CHF 4,582,500 (about $5 million). (Incidentally, before the appearance of the third-party guarantor, this watch initially had an estimate of CHF 1-2 million, but just as the sale was due to begin, the estimate was revised to CHF 3.75-6.5 million.)
The sale also included a selection of exquisite pieces from independent makers, including Kari Voutilainen, F.P. Journe, Philippe Dufour; George Daniels; Urban Jürgensen; and Ludovic Ballouard. There were even a few pieces from the Opus collection, the collaborative program run by MB&F’s Max Büsser when he was head of watches at Harry Winston.
The top lot in the Rare Watches sale was a Patek Philippe Nautilus ref. 3700/031 in platinum with a double row of diamonds on the bezel, believed to be unique. It sold for CHF 1,618,000 (about $1,797,145). Second up was a Philippe Dufour Simplicity in steel with a royal blue dial and no seconds, a sought-after rarity that fetched CHF 945,000 (about $1,049,630). Continuing the ongoing trend toward the rise of star independents, the third-highest lot was by F.P. Journe, a steel Grande & Petite Sonnerie, one of fewer than 60 pieces ever made. It sold for CHF 819,000 (about $909,680).
The sale included notable rarities by other independents, including a titanium Ressence with a bright red dial (CHF 13,860 lot 25); a Maitre du Temps Kari Voutilainen art piece with a Jasper Johns design on the dial (CHF 50,400 lot 26); and a Laurent Ferrier Titanium Sport Auto, that retailed last year for CHF 46,000, and sold for CHF 63,000 lot. 27. And remember Audemar Piguet’s 200-piece limited-edition ceramic Royal Oak Offshore “Equalizer” models with a multicolored dial that launched earlier this year for just under $32,000? One of those sold for CHF 69,300.
Christie’s combined sales tend to confirm the trend in watch auctions toward fewer lots with higher prices, and the rise of millionaire lots—eight watches sold over CHF 1 million, and two watches over CHF 5 million. All of the Geneva auctions illustrate the rise in popularity of pieces hand-made by independents, which indicates collectors are looking for watches that are unique in terms of either technology (F.P. Journe leads this segment) or design and finish (including reigning masters Kari Voutilainen and Philippe Dufour).
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