Record CHF33m bid for rare watches in Geneva

Christie's sets record with rare watches, over CHF 33 million Keystone-SDA

Bidders paid more than CHF33 million for rare watches in Geneva, setting a new record for auction house Christie's.

+Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox

The Rare Watches auction netted CHF33,054,441, which is the highest amount bid for watches from different owners at a Christie’s event.

With a sale rate of 99% per lot and an average price 188% above the low estimate, the event – reports the Italian agency Adnkronos – underlines the growing demand in the international market for collectors’ watches.

Among the most eagerly awaited pieces, the 1990 Cartier Crash London tripled its low estimate, selling for CHF1,585,000 and setting a new world record for the model. Featuring a solid gold case and ‘Crash’ strap with a deployment clasp signed Cartier London, the watch caught the attention of collectors and enthusiasts alike.

The most valuable lot was the extremely rare F.P. Journe Platinum Tourbillon Souverain, Ref. T, which sold for CHF2,439,000, five times its minimum estimated value. Introduced at Baselworld in 1999, the timepiece came from the family of the original owner, purchased on Christmas Eve 2000.

The auction attracted global participation as 44% of buyers came from Europe, the Middle East and Africa, 19% from Asia-Pacific and 28% from the United States. Thirty per cent of the participants were new to the Christie’s market.

Remi Guillemin, Head of Watches for Europe and the Americas, emphasised the continued confidence of sellers and the international enthusiasm of collectors, highlighting new world records for an Audemars Piguet chronograph and the Cartier Crash.

Other notable pieces included the Tiffany Blue Nautilus Patek Philippe Ref. 5711/1A-018, which sold for CHF1,270,000, and the Patek Philippe Ref. 3970EP-047 with a black monogram dial, owned by the famous American collector Michael Steven Ovitz, which realised CHF1,016,000.

Other prestigious brands such as A. Lange & Söhne, Daniel Roth and Krayon also recorded significant sales, confirming the wide range of interest among collectors and the strength of the market for high-end watches.

Adapted from Italian by AI/mga

How we work

We select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools to translate them into English. A journalist then reviews the translation for clarity and accuracy before publication.  

Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles. The news stories we select have been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team from news agencies such as Bloomberg or Keystone.

If you have any questions about how we work, write to us at [e-mail]