Hodinkee
Auctions: How High Can The Vintage Vacheron 222 Fly?
We'll find out over the next few days, at Phillips and Sotheby's.
872 articles · 21 videos found · page 6 of 30
Hodinkee
We'll find out over the next few days, at Phillips and Sotheby's.
Quill & Pad
“May I have your full attention? This is one of the most important watches ever.” As Sotheby’s auctioneer Benoît Colson opened lot 72 on May 10, 2022, the room seemed to hold its collective breath for a moment. He continued, “The personal Royal Oak of Gérald Genta – you could not dream of a better provenance for a Royal Oak, an Audemars Piguet, or even any wristwatch.” And here's how the world record price for a vintage AP Royal Oak went down from an eyewitness.
Quill & Pad
Patrik Sjögren of GoS was already active on Instagram in support of Ukraine in early March, at which time he saw an opportunity to help in the form of a collaboration with artist Matthew Miller (@sunflowerman.watch). The result is the GoS Northern Lights for Ukraine Norrsken unique piece now being auctioned by Sotheby's. Elizabeth Doerr explains what it is and how it came about here.
Time+Tide
Editor’s note: Brendan Cunningham is a Professor of Economics at Eastern Connecticut State University in the US and the man behind Horolonomics, a blog that explores the economic issues in watchmaking. Over the last five years or so, the luxury watch auction market seems to have grown more and more inaccessible for many collectors. Economist Stephen … ContinuedThe post Disillusioned with the prices at auctions? Check out this full set of Seiko “Monaco” chronographs on this novel auction site appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
Continuing the steady pace of personnel changes since French telecoms tycoon Patrick Drahi acquired Sotheby’s in 2019, the auction house has just announced an overhaul of its watches and jewellery departments in Asia. The chairman of Jewellery and Watches for the region is Wenhao Yu, formerly of Beijing-based Poly Auction. The jewellery department will be led by Regine Ngan, while the watch department promoted from within with Joey Luk being elevated to the top job. The trio will report to Josh Pullan, who was appointed Head of Global Luxury Division just last year after almost a decade as a manager in Sotheby’s digital and e-commerce departments, which no doubt explains Sotheby’s volume of online-only auctions. Left to right: Regine Ngan, Wenhao Yu, and Joey Luk A veteran of watch auctions despite her relative youth, Ms Luk was most recently Head of Sale, having been recruited to Sotheby’s from Phillips in 2018. Ms Luk succeeds Sam Hines who will “take on an advisory role for Sotheby’s worldwide Watches sales efforts”. Mr Hines led Sotheby’s to a record year in 2021, where watch auctions totalled over US$150 million. Sotheby’s also claimed the title of most expensive wristwatch sold at auction in 2021 with the Patek Philippe ref. 1518 “pink on pink” once belonging to an Egyptian prince that sold for US$9.57 million (pictured at top). He will be leaving Sotheby’s with a bang – his closing act will be a single-owner sale of 41 Patek Philippe wr...
Quill & Pad
Ineichen Zurich announces special auctions of rare timepieces to be hosted simultaneously in Zurich and online November 20-21, 2021. On offer are a some very desirable watches from A. Lange & Söhne, Audemars Piguet, Patek Philippe, and Breguet as well as independents including F.P. Journe, De Bethune, Vianney Halter, Urwerk, Konstantin Chaykin, and Svend Andersen. Have a look at our picks here.
SJX Watches
With Sotheby’s Hong Kong sale just around the corner, we’re rounding up a half-dozen notable vintage watches from the auction, primarily big-ticket Patek Philippe complications. Amongst them a few oddities, one a Patek Philippe ref. 3448 “Senza Luna”, a perpetual calendar with the moon phase omitted, and the other the Rolex Day-Date with a “Submariner” dial. With the preview exhibition open daily from now till October 12, the auction will take place on October 13. The catalogue and registration for bidding are available on Sothebys.com. Lot 2265: Patek Philippe ref. 130 The oldest watch of the selection is a Patek Philippe ref. 130, the brand’s first serially-produced wristwatch chronograph that remained in the catalogue for over three decades. The model’s longevity makes it an inevitability that a good number of ref. 130 variants exist. Indeed, the model varies greatly in terms case material and dial design, with some combinations being rarer than others. One such rare combination is a steel case with “sector” dial, like the present example. Made by Wenger, the steel cases of the ref. 130 have shorter and wider-spaced lugs compared to the gold cases that made by Vichet, giving the 33 mm case a more imposing appearance Chronograph wristwatches from that era typically feature tiny counters that sit close to the edge of the dial, leaving the dial clean and distinctly vintage. But the “sector” dial here is an entirely different animal – the sect...
SJX Watches
Sotheby’s upcoming Hong Kong auction is a major event – 266 lots is sizeable – but boasts a surprising lineup of historically significant watches in a variety of genres, from establishment brands to independent watchmaking (including a dozen F.P. Journe), and even museum-quality, enamelled automata. Now we turn to an unusual group of watches from the collections of two well-known watch collectors: musician Eric Clapton and Japanese streetwear guru Hiroshi Fujiwara (who last year designed a watch for TAG Heuer). The all important name on the certificate The ex-Clapton watches have been consigned by the current owners, who number just two. The first consigned all the Rolex sports watches, which he bought direct from Mr Clapton. And the second is a prominent collector from the Southern Hemisphere who consigned the trio of custom-dial Patek Philippe chronographs commissioned by Mr Clapton, a set of watches the owner accumulated primarily at auction. On the other hand, the watches from Mr Fujiwara’s collection come from the man himself. Mr Fujiwara consigned three watches, including a matched pair of ref. 5970 with “Tiffany” dials. We round up eight highlights from these celebrity-owned offerings. The full catalogue and sale registration are available on Sothebys.com. The ex-Clapton Often spotted wearing notable watches, modern and vintage, Eric Clapton has long been known to be a watch aficionado (and also an accomplished collector of Ferrari). Mr Clapton has ...
SJX Watches
A biennial charity watch auction that raises money for medical research, Only Watch has just announced the 2021 event takes place in Geneva on November 6, along with most of the 53 unique timepieces that will go under the hammer. Attended by the great and the good of Swiss watchmaking, Only Watch auctions have long enjoyed the support of leading watchmakers who exercise their best efforts to create one-off timepieces that are sold to support research into a cure for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Only Watch was founded by Luc Pettavino, whose late son Paul was stricken by the illness. Mr Pettavino’s unfailing dedication to both Only Watch and his son’s memory has raised over €70 million to date. Luc Pettavino at Only Watch 2019 Many of the unique timepieces created for the event are landmarks in themselves, explaining why Only Watch has traditionally been a venue for record-setting prices, most notably the Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime ref. 6300A in steel that sold for CHF31 million in 2019. Highlights this year include a Tudor Black Bay GMT in an aged-gunmetal finish, possibly the very last Audemars Piguet Royal Oak ref. 15202 (a model that will be discontinued at year’s end), and the imaginative F.P. Journe “Francis Ford Coppola”. And what will likely be the most valuable lot in the auction is not a wristwatch, but instead the Patek Philippe desk clock ref. 27001M-001 inspired by a timekeeper made for automobile tycoon James Ward Packard in 1923. We will c...
Revolution
Sotheby’s offers another Lapis dial Rolex Daytona, proving that lightning does strike twice; coming up for sale in Hong Kong Autumn of 2020
Revolution
Ross Povey gets his picks on from the Sotheby’s Hong Kong Important Watches sale catalog set for 11 July 2020
Revolution
Sotheby’s is set to sell a unique platinum Perpetual Daytona with never-before-seen lapis dial as the star lot in its July Hong Kong sale.
Revolution
Even while we find ourselves in these extraordinary times, Sotheby’s is keeping things moving with an all new online weekly sale.
SJX Watches
Long before the Odysseus “sport-elegant” watch, A. Lange & Söhne already had a serially produced timepiece in stainless steel. In the late 1990s, just as the brand was rapidly gaining traction as the preeminent German watchmaker – remember that it had only unveiled its wristwatch collection in 1994 – the company rolled out the fabled 1815 service watch. (NB: Sotheby’s has withdrawn the watch from the sale.) The rationale behind the watch was simple: a loaner for clients who had sent in their Lange wristwatch for servicing. Staying true to the exceptionally high standards the start-up brand had established for itself, the loaner was not a disposable or cut-rate watch. It was a time-only 1815 that was almost identical to the standard model – with the same highly finished movement and solid silver dial – except the case was steel while the dial was black with white markings, a colour not available on the regular production watch. Note the case back engraving. Photo – Sotheby’s Reputedly around 80-120 of these service watches were made. They were produced in small batches over a period, perhaps over a handful of years from the late 1990s to the early 2000s. The number might not seem like much, but with the company being relatively new at the time, the number of watches returned for servicing was presumably quite small. The movement in the service watch is finished to exactly the same level as that on a standard watch. Photo – Sotheby’s The 1815 serv...
Quill & Pad
Part two of Sotheby's Masterworks of Time offers more than 30 impressive masterpieces from A. Lange & Söhne’s illustrious history as well as rare pocket watches by Adolf Schneider, who worked alongside Ferdinand Adolph Lange in Glashütte, their master Johann Christian Friedrich Gutkaes, and many other historical delicacies sure to have your heart beating faster!
Revolution
Ross Povey presents some of the highlights among the impressive range of watches that Sotheby’s has assembled for its Novemeber 2019 sale.
SJX Watches
The most talked-about watch at Sotheby’s upcoming Important Watches auction in Hong Kong is lot 2300, a Rolex Cosmograph Daytona powered by a Zenith El Primero movement that’s described as “a possibly unique… chronograph wristwatch with a red dial”. And as with all high-profile watches, the auctioneers have given the watch an Italian nickname, “Luna Rossa”, which translates as “red moon”. The reason the “Luna Rossa” is controversial is because such a red dial has never ever been seen before. Usually unicorns are known and whispered about, even if seldom seen, but the “Luna Rossa” has surprised everyone. Experts and insiders I approached have neither encountered nor heard of such a dial, which makes it quite a revelation. But they all agree it is correct – in the sense that all elements are identical to known Rolex dials of the period – though of unknown origin. Sotheby’s itself hasn’t provided much background about the watch, either officially or unofficially. Unlike the unique platinum Daytona “Zenith” that Sotheby’s sold last year, setting a record price for a modern Daytona, which had a backstory that was I managed to uncover, the “Luna Rossa” remains a mystery. The dial is glossy red lacquer, with gold indices and sub-dials When such unusual dials emerge, the immediate question is one of authenticity. The “Luna Rossa” passes the test – the dial is correct in its details. The element usually regarded as crucia...
Revolution
Ross Povey picks out his favorite lots from Sotheby’s watches sale catalogue, to be held at London on September 24th, 2019.
Hodinkee
This is the latest in a series of thematic auctions from Phillips.
Revolution
The upcoming Sotheby’s Important Watches sale in Geneva has strong offerings of Patek Philippe watches and manual-wind Daytonas.
Revolution
Before the May auction madness kicks off, Sotheby’s has a small pre-season offering that’s curated very much with the philosophy of quality, not quantity.
Revolution
Auction season is kicking off so we thought it would be great to talk to an expert about the watch auction market in this episode. Sam Hines, Sotheby’s watch auctioneer extraordinaire, took precious time out of his busy schedule to give us the lowdown on the market, tips of the trade, and anecdotes about his most sensational lots.
Revolution
Ross Povey picks out his favorite lots from Monaco Legend Auctions’ sale catalogue, to be held on January 14th, 2019.
Ross Povey picks out his favorite lots from Sotheby’s Important Watches sale catalogue, to be held on November 13th, 2018.
Christie’s explains why online watch auctions have been so successful and will continue to be.
Andrew Hildreth runs us through top lots at the Heuer Parade along with lessons learnt that show the value of quality themed auctions.
Revolution
Sotheby’s celebrates English watchmakers with July 2017 London sale titled: The Celebration of the English Watch Part IV, George Daniels 20th Century Innovator.
Revolution
Sotheby’s in New York is about to auction a “rare” Pre Vendôme 5215-207/A with blue dial today, which after having undergone some serious scrutiny proves to be questionable - to say the least.
Time+Tide
The notion of a nature-inspired watch is nothing new for Grand Seiko, it is certainly their M.O. But when the Grand Seiko SBGJ269 “Pink Flannel Flower” Limited Edition was released last year it was a huge deal for multiple reasons. Firstly, the SBGJ269 was the first-ever Australian limited edition from Grand Seiko. Secondly, the 50-piece … ContinuedThe post UPDATE: The winner of the Grand Seiko AU SBGJ269 auction will also get a VIP trip to Japan – under one condition appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Quill & Pad
F.P. Journe watches have attracted the attention of the collector community in recent years. Some amazing results have been achieved at auction, including the spectacular FFC Blue Only Watch 2021, which sold at Christie’s for a staggering CHF 4,500,000. Seven-figure sums at auction are nothing unusual for F.P. Journe, but the consistently high results are a sure sign that the brand has taken the lead among independents in the secondary watch market.
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