Story Highlight
– Phillips New York auction features 196 lots, 12 over £1 million.
– Previous Geneva auction totaled CHF 92 million with 217 watches.
– American collectors, including tech billionaires, boost local auctions.
– New York needs high sell rates to surpass Geneva sales.
– Signature watches include rare F.P. Journe and Patek Philippe models.
Full Story
Phillips has unveiled its extensive catalogue for the New York Watch Auction: XV, scheduled for 5–6 December, featuring 196 lots. Among these, 12 timepieces are anticipated to fetch over £1 million each.
In stark contrast, this week’s auction in Geneva saw Phillips successfully sell 217 watches, achieving a remarkable total of CHF 92 million (approximately $112.3 million).
Historically, Geneva has been the focal point for the highest-value watch auctions. However, the financial clout of American collectors—enhanced by tech moguls like Mark Zuckerberg and Sam Altman—has prompted auction houses such as Phillips to draw greater attention to the domestic market.
This shift raises the possibility of intense bidding in New York, potentially positioning it to surpass Geneva and achieve a record high for watch auctions.
The buying power of Silicon Valley’s elite may remain unaffected by the 12.5% import tariffs on watches entering the United States. However, sellers are increasingly incentivised to retain their watches within the US market.
Paul Boutros, Deputy Chairman and Head of Watches for the Americas at Phillips, highlighted this strategy in a July article for Rapaport. He stated that Phillips has actively engaged clients who possess watches in the country, explaining that bids from US buyers during a New York auction would avoid tariffs, leading to potentially stronger bidding. “Prices, in our opinion, would consequently be higher than usual,” he argued.
To surpass the record total from the Geneva auction, watches in New York must exceed their minimum auction estimates significantly. In Geneva, every watch consigned was sold, averaging 3.67 times its combined minimum estimate of $30.62 million for the 217 lots.
In contrast, the total minimum estimates for the New York auction are set at $25.4 million across the 196 lots. For New York to beat the high bar set in Geneva, it will require all watches to sell for an average of 4.42 times their minimum estimates, translating to over $572,800 per lot, which is notably higher than Geneva’s actual average of $517,400.
Geneva’s auction showcased the substantial impact of a select few high-value watches. F.P. Journe timepieces alone accounted for CHF 31.8 million of the total. New York’s auction boasts its own standout pieces, such as a pink-gold Patek Philippe ref. 2499 estimated at over $3 million, alongside several rare F.P. Journe items.
Among the prominent lots in the New York auction is the F.P. Journe Tourbillon Souverain Souscription No. 13, expected to exceed $1 million. This piece, a pivotal creation from the brand’s inception in 1999, captures the essence of F.P. Journe and is hailed as crucial in the landscape of independent watchmaking.
Additional noteworthy items include the F.P. Journe Tourbillon Souverain “Sincere Fine Watches” 50th Anniversary Edition, also estimated to exceed $1 million, and a nearly untouched Grande et Petite Sonnerie valued between $800,000 and $1.6 million, showcasing the brand’s engineering prowess.
Patek Philippe’s offerings include the reference 1518, anticipated to fetch between $500,000 and $1 million, and the unique yellow gold reference 2499, also estimated around $500,000 to $1 million. The auction also features a limited edition pink gold reference 3970ER-028, specially produced for the 2015 London Watch Art Grand Exhibition, showcasing its prestigious lineage and rarity.
The auction presents an intriguing opportunity for collectors hoping to acquire exceptional timepieces that may define the future of watch auctions.
