Watch auctioneer Phillips in Association With Bacs & Russo made auction history on the weekend by breaking the $100-million barrier for a single sale.
Watch auctioneer Phillips in Association With Bacs & Russo made auction history on the weekend by breaking the $100-million barrier for a single sale. The Geneva Watch Auction XXIV, held November 7 and 8, achieved a record $112.3 million in sales and set 24 world records. Seventeen lots sold for more than $1 million, with Patek Philippe, Rolex, F.P. Journe, Philippe Dufour and Voutilainen prominent among the leading results. The average lot price was $500,000.
The top lot was the F.P.Journe Chronomètre à Résonance Régence in platinum, selling for $10,588,474, a world record for the reference. This is the the fifth consecutive Phillips live auction with a watch selling for more than US$ 10 million. Other leading Journe results included the Tokyo Boutique Chronomètre à Résonance, at $ 7,496,891, also a world record for the reference; and the diamond-set Vagabondage III at $6,168,529.
The second highest lot in the sale was a Patek Philippe Ref. 1436 split-seconds chronograph, selling for $7,644,487. It is one of only two known examples retaining their original steel case-and-dial configuration. The price represents a world record for any split-seconds chronograph. The sale also set a new world record for a Cartier timepiece at auction: $5,873,337 for the Portico Mystery Clock No. 4. Created in 1924, it is one of only six Porticos and the sole example with a hexagonal rock-crystal dial.
Another notable Patek in the top ten was a stainless-steel Ref. 530 Calatrava for $1,363,248, and a yellow gold Ref. 1518 perpetual calendar chronograph, also for $1,363,248.
Rounding out the top 10 lots were: a yellow gold Rolex Ref. 6062 Stelline for $ 2,847,623; a Rolex Ref. 6241 Daytona John Player Special in 14k yellow gold for $2,323,719; a Philippe Dufour platinum Simplicity for $2,401,176; a Voutilainen tantalum Vingt-8 Inversé for $1,858,975 (a world record for the reference); and a Harry Winston/F.P. Journe Opus One tourbillon for $1,704,061, a world record for any watch in the Opus series, which has been discontinued since 2015.
Finally, the sale included a collection of 15 Rolex Chronographs consigned by well known Rolex expert and author Pucci Papaleo, for a total of $3,784,600. It included a square Rolex Ref. 3830 Verga, selling for $ 1,549,146, representing a world record for a non-Oyster Rolex chronograph.
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