SJX Watches
Editorial: The Geneva Auction Season, November 2022
A much-anticipated series of auctions just concluded in Geneva, the first sale season to take place after financial markets started to crack in mid 2022. All the major auction houses – Christie’s, Phillips, and Sotheby’s – staged sales in the Swiss city, and almost everyone who was anyone turned up (or took part by phone or online). The season’s top performer by the numbers was Christie’s, which sold CHF55.5 million of watches, fees included, largely thanks to the collection of former Ferrari Formula 1 chief Jean Todt. It displaced the traditional number one, Phillips, which sold CHF45.0 million. The Phillips auction at La Reserve. Image – Phillips A few takeaways are immediately apparent in the results. One was widely expected: “hype” watches have come off their highs, often by a third or more. Including obvious candidates like sports watches, namely the Nautilus, Royal Oak, and Overseas, but also brands that enjoyed massive run-ups in value during the pandemic like F.P. Journe. Values are still up from the pre-pandemic lows, but if prices overcorrected on the way up, then it is likely they will do so on the way down. Sotheby’s, for instance, had several dozen examples of various Nautilus and Royal Oak models in its sale, mostly with estimates close to peak values from late 2021. As a result, a third of the watches went unsold. The dip in values was also evident with F.P. Journe, certainly not a “hype” brand but one that enjoy a stellar run during ...
