Results for Phillips Geneva Watch Auction XIV

Spot The Watch: A special Patek Philippe 5970 owned by Eric Clapton coming up for auction at Sotheby’s

A special Patek Philippe 5970 previously owned by Eric Clapton coming up for auction

Hands-On: F.P. Journe Zodiaque “Children Action” Piece Unique

François-Paul Journe is perhaps the most successful living independent watchmaker – so successful that some of his watches have entered the same “hype” territory occupied by watches like the Nautilus and Royal Oak – which might mean that casting about for an overlooked F.P. Journe watch is a fool’s errand. But the brand does have a few hidden gems in amongst its past offerings, with the Zodiaque being one such watch. And Phillips’ upcoming Geneva sale has a one-off version that I had never seen in person until recently, the Zodiaque “Children Action” – which will be sold to benefit the titular children’s charity. The original Zodiaque. Image – Phillips The original Zodiaque debuted in 2004, just five years after the brand was founded, in a limited edition of 150 pieces. Despite its distinctive aesthetic and esoteric complication, the Zodiaque never enjoyed the success of its peers at the time, perhaps because of that very complication, which indicates the signs of zodiac with an annual calendar ring. Remember that in the years after the brand’s founding in 1999, F.P. Journe was merely a startup founded by a talented watchmaker with a peculiar personality; his watches weren’t exactly flying off the shelves. Yet Mr Journe still created this one-off watch for a good cause, which eventually became a yearly affair with the brand contributing unique watches to several charities, including subsequent timepieces for Children Action and of course the rec...

Place your bets! Which Rolex Oyster Perpetual 2020 dial colour will sell for the highest price at the Hong Kong Watch Auction later today?

This year’s Melbourne Cup is over, but now there’s an exciting new race, with the runners and riders taking horological form. That’s because this Sunday, Phillips is hosting the Hong Kong Watch Auction: XI. There’s a drool-worthy collection of pieces up for grabs, including watches from Patek Philippe, A. Lange & Söhne and many more. … ContinuedThe post Place your bets! Which Rolex Oyster Perpetual 2020 dial colour will sell for the highest price at the Hong Kong Watch Auction later today? appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Report: Geneva Spring Auctions 2025

Despite everything, including tariffs and a strong Swiss franc, the Geneva auction season turned out to be a strong one, with some of the strongest results being in the most surprising segments. The bigger winner this season was Phillips, which sold a bit under 200 lots for CHF43.4 million including fees, while also claiming the most valuable lots for the season, reflecting Phillips’ strong leadership and team. Despite being the market leader by some margin, the Phillips catalogue was arguably the riskiest as it included several high-value pocket watches and clocks – timepieces that not part of mainstream collecting today. Yet the gamble paid off with the most valuable timepiece this season being its Breguet Sympathique no. 1 that sold for CHF5.51 million. Christie’s achieved CHF21.2 million with a similar number of lots that were arguably more conventional in taste and format than at Phillips. One of its most valuable lots was a Cartier Crash “NSO” with a special order dial that sold for CHF736,000 – one of the biggest surprises of the season but proof that being eye-catching enough for social media is a big factor in desirability and value today. Interestingly, the Crash sold for exactly the same as the Richard Mille RM UP-01 Ferrari. The Crash went for about 15 times the original retail, while the RM UP-01 was about half of retail. The Crash NSO “nickele” grey. Image – Christie’s Over at Antiquorum, the tally was CHF10 million – from almost 800 lot...

Auction: Christie’s Auction to Benefit Medical Charity ELA

Christie’s has just announced Watches for ELA, a thematic auction of 11 watches, mostly one-of-a-kind, to benefit the European Leukodystrophy Association (ELA), which supports research into the disorder. The brands that have created watches for the sale include Bovet, Konstantin Chaykin, Girard-Perregaux, Swatch, and most crucially from a value perspective, Richard Mille. While Christie’s is best known for staging Only Watch, a biennial charity auction, the ELA auction is notable for being the brainchild of François-Henri Pinault, the chief executive of French luxury conglomerate Kering, which owns brands like Gucci and Balenciaga. Mr Pinault is on the board of ELA, while Christie’s is owned privately by the Pinault family. Each timepiece in the ELA auction is offered without reserve, with all proceeds going to ELA. The sale takes place on November 11, 2024 as part of Christie’s customary Rare Watches auction. The catalogue and online bidding will be available at end October. Richard Mille RM 65-01 Automatic Split-Seconds Chronograph Dark Yellow Quartz TPT The flagship offering in the sale, and the only watch with a six figure estimate, the RM 65-01 is one of the most complicated Richard Mille watches, the RM 65-01 is powered by a high-frequency, self-winding rattrapante chronograph movement made by Vaucher. This example is part of a 120-piece limited edition that’s the latest iteration of the RM 65-01. It sports yellow Quartz TPT carbon composite case and is th...

Highlights: Independent Watchmaking at Phillips Hong Kong

After a weekend in Geneva, the spring auction season returns to Hong Kong where Phillips will stage The Hong Kong Watch Auction: XIV over two days, with the first session on May 27 followed by the second the day after. As is increasingly the case with all auction houses, Phillips’ upcoming sale includes of a variety of watches that represent the spectrum of independent watchmaking. The lineup encompasses some truly rare and special watches – including the F.P. Journe Tourbillon Souverain “China 2010” – along with a few one-offs like a Lang & Heyne sports watch prototype. The prototype Lang & Heyne Friedrich II Remontoir We round up seven of the notable examples of independent watchmaking in the sale, including a little-known and short-lived collaboration between MB&F; and Urwerk as well as a striking De Bethune DBS in rose gold and blue. Registration to bid and the full catalogue can be accessed here. (All of the photos are our own, except those of the DBS-R and Tourbillon Souverain “China” that were provided by Phillips.) Lot 834: C3H5N309 “Nitro” ZR012 Black by MB&F; and Urwerk While MB&F; and Urwerk are amongst the most prominent names in avant-garde watchmaking, the 2012 collaboration between the two is ironically obscure. Named after the chemical name of nitroglycerin – the key ingredient in dynamite – C3H5N3O9 was conceived as an all-new brand established by the founders of MB&F; and Urwerk. C3H5N3O9, or Nitro for short, was a short-lived vent...

Auction Watch: Record-Setting Patek Philippe Ref. 1415 World Time

A frequent topic of news headlines recently is the US$11 billion tax bill faced by the Lee family that controls Samsung. South Korea’s 60% inheritance tax is the highest in the rich world, resulting in the gargantuan tax assessment after the death of Lee Kun-hee, the former chairman of Samsung. The late Lee was a reticent but prodigious collector of art, automobiles, and also watches – all of which are either being sold or donated to help cover the bill. According to the Financial Times, Lee amassed 23,000 works of art, including paintings by Basquiat, Dalí, Monet and Picasso. Valued at over US$2 billion, the art collection will be donated to various museums in South Korea to offset some of the taxes. Christie’s mega auction Comprised of several hundred wrist- and pocket watches, Lee’s timepiece collection was consigned to Christie’s, according to several industry insiders. The first watches from the collection will be sold on May 22 in Hong Kong at a sale led by Christie’s head of watches in Asia, Alexandre Bigler. Amongst the highlights of the collection is the unique Patek Philippe Ref. 1415 HU world time in platinum that once held the record for the most expensive watch ever when it sold for 6.6 million Swiss francs at Antiquorum’s Geneva auction in April 2002. Alexandre Bigler of Christie’s While the identities of the buyers of recent record-setting watches is often unknown except to a handful of well-connected individuals (the buyer of the US$31-mil...

Auction Watch: Sylvester Stallone’s Very Own Panerai Luminor

Instrumental in Panerai’s rise as the “it” brand of the 2000s were the action-hero celebrities who favoured its oversized dive watches. The singular most important personality in establishing the brand in popular culture was Sylvester Stallone, who wore this very Luminor 5218-201/A “pre-Vendome” in the 1996 film Daylight, where he played a firefighter leading survivors out of a collapsed tunnel. Mr Stallone with the Panerai on his right wrist in Daylight A product of the original Panerai company in Italy before the brand moved to Switzerland after Richemont acquired it, the watch has been consigned for sale at Phillips’ upcoming New York watch auction by Mr Stallone himself. It’s being offered exactly as it was worn on screen, including the sharkskin strap – along with paraphernalia relating to the film as well as a hand-written note stating he wore the watch during its production. Four other watches of Mr Stallone’s, all Richard Mille, are also in the sale, including the RM 32 he wore in The Expendables 3. The Stallone collection In the mid 1990s Mr Stallone also had an informal partnership with Panerai, reputedly receiving several watches from the brand, which then produced several runs of limited edition watches dubbed  “Sly Tech” after Mr Stallone’s nickname. Mr Stallone became an early adopter of Panerai not long after it starting making wristwatches once again in 1993 thanks to Monty Shadow, a photographer born in the former Yugoslavia who i...

In the Eye of the Storm – A Letter From Geneva

Switzerland has declared a state of emergency as a result of the COVID-19 coronavirus. Almost everything is closed, including schools, shops, and restaurants, with only businesses offering the basic necessities, like banks and supermarkets, being allowed to open. There is bad news from Switzerland’s neighbours as well; the virus has spread fast in Italy. A recent poll showed that only 8% of the Swiss population feel they are in great danger. I can assure you that 100% of watch brands are feeling the pressure. Many watch factories, particularly the privately-held brands, have shut down completely or are about to. That includes Rolex, which just closed all its facilities for two weeks starting March 17. Watch sales are falling all around the world, with some brands suffering drops of 30-40% in February, and duty-free sales – which are substantial for the watch industry – falling by up to 90% in major airports. We have seen many crises, but this is unprecedented. But the biggest blow to the industry so far – the cancellation of the major watch fairs, Watches & Wonders (W&W;) and Baselworld. Even though very little is actually sold at the fairs, they were universal events that brought everyone together, almost like an annual reunion of old friends (and competitors). The fairs were a major, major part of the larger imagination, so the cancellations feel like a massive blow for everyone in the industry. The accelerating fallout First, the timeline of the virus’ i...

Live Stream: Watch The 2019 GPHG Live From Geneva, Right Here

Don't miss a second of the action.

Only Watch 2021: Andersen Genève Quotidiana

One-off timepieces are very much the stock-in-trade of Svend Andersen, who has spent over 40 years creating bespoke or custom complicated watches at his eponymous brand, Andersen Genève. A longtime supporter of Only Watch – the brand created a Montre a Tact for the 2019 event – Andersen did something different this year for the charity auction. A collaborative partnership with the Savile Row tailor Edward Sexton, the Andersen Genève Quotidiana is a one-off wristwatch accompanied by a made-to-measure suit for the buyer, along with a visit the workshops of both companies. Initial thoughts While the tie up with a tailor is odd, the watch itself is intrinsically interesting. Unlike the more esoteric “tactful” watch made for Only Watch 2019, the Quotidiana is a classical timepiece in form and function, but done with the watchmaker’s typical decorative flair. The quintessential Andersen Genève watch consists of elaborate efforts in constructing the various elements – from the case, dial, and hands, to custom complication modules, usually built upon an off-the-shelf base movement. These parts are made manually with hand-operated tools, a charming characteristic that makes for a genuinely personalised timepiece, even though the Quotidiana has been made for Only Watch without a client’s input (though the buyer will get to specify every detail of the suit that goes along with the watch). Hand made Undoubtedly, the highlight of the Quotidiana is the guilloche dia...

Recap – The Best New Indie Watches From Geneva Watch Week 2026

Independent watchmaking has always been a crucible of creativity and doing things off the beaten path, and that’s exactly the reason why we love the genre so much. From industry legends and trailblazers such as Daniel Roth, Urwerk and MB&F;, to the newest generation of stars, the indie watchmaking scene is truly unique. And while […]

Report: Geneva Fall Auctions 2025

The just-concluded Geneva auction season was mostly a plateau with several striking peaks and a few lows. The peaks were marked by desirable timepieces that outperformed by far, yet shared little in common with one another in terms of style or period. The peaks ranged from multiple F.P. Journe watches to a diamond-set Patek Philippe ref. 3424/1 “Gilbert Albert” to the Breguet four-minute tourbillon pocket watch from 1809 to the Instagram-ready Patek Philippe ref. 3970 in “salmon” with Breguet numerals. Despite such diverse taste, the small pool of bidders seemed to have one thing in common: they were all focused on a “trophy” watch. The Christie’s saleroom in the Four Seasons. Image – Christie’s With few exceptions, contemporary watches from mainstream brands were cold, while vintage watches were mostly lukewarm – but as always there were exceptions. An Patek Philippe ref. 570 with a black dial signed “E. Gubelin” sold for an impressive CHF419,100 including fees, or US$523,000, at Christie’s, while Phillips sold a Rolex Daytona ref. 6263 “RCO” (or “Oyster Sotto”) for an equally impressive CHF1.39 million, or US$1.73 million – close to the historical peak for the model. A vintage watch that surprised on the downside was the 1927 Rolex Oyster worn by Mercedes Gleitze when she became the first woman to swim the English Channel in 1927 – a landmark in Rolex lore. Though it sold for CHF1.39 million, or US$1.74 million, there was just one bi...

Photo Report: Watch Spotting At Monaco Legend Group's Fall 2025 Auction

In Monaco, all watches are welcome, but some really stood out. Here's what we saw.

First Look: ArtyA at Geneva Watch Days 2025

Geneva Watch Days: How It All Began

Five Of The Wildest Watches From Geneva Watch Days 2025

Last week, Swiss tradition threw off its tie and experimented in a number of exciting ways.

Business News: Hot Offerings From Swiss Watchmakers Wrestle For Attention With Tariff Price Talk At Geneva Watch Days

More price increases are coming, including Patek, MB&F;, and Moser, executives say, without a better U.S. tariff deal.

First Look: DOXA at Geneva Watch Days 2025

First Look: Dennison at Geneva Watch Days 2025

First Look: Gerald Charles at Geneva Watch Days 2025

First Look: Franc Vila at Geneva Watch Days 2025

First Look: Czapek & Cie. at Geneva Watch Days 2025

First Look: MING at Geneva Watch Days 2025

First Look: Ulysse Nardin at Geneva Watch Days 2025