A blow-out month for watches

A changing market for watch collectors is putting new brands in the spotlight. Chris Carter reports

Back of Patek Philippe “The Blue Royale” watch
(Image credit: © Phillips)

It has been a blow-out month for watch sales and the fun’s far from over. Christie’s and Sotheby’s in Geneva have sold CHF22.8m (£18.5m) and CHF15.2m (£12.3m) of collectable timepieces respectively. And Phillips in association with Bacs & Russo, a consultancy, stole the show with CHF68.2m (£55.2m) raised at its recent “Geneva Watch Auction: XIV”, almost doubling the previous record high for an auction total.

Several other records went along the way at the Phillips auction, including the highest price for a watch from an independent watchmaker – the Philippe Dufour Grande & Petite Sonnerie in yellow gold wristwatch sold for CHF4.8m (£3.9m). Watches by Omega, Roger Smith, and Christian Klings also all fetched record-high prices. All of the watches on offer found buyers – a rarity known in the auction world as a “white glove” event.

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Chris Carter
Wealth Editor, MoneyWeek

Chris Carter spent three glorious years reading English literature on the beautiful Welsh coast at Aberystwyth University. Graduating in 2005, he left for the University of York to specialise in Renaissance literature for his MA, before returning to his native Twickenham, in southwest London. He joined a Richmond-based recruitment company, where he worked with several clients, including the Queen’s bank, Coutts, as well as the super luxury, Dorchester-owned Coworth Park country house hotel, near Ascot in Berkshire.

Then, in 2011, Chris joined MoneyWeek. Initially working as part of the website production team, Chris soon rose to the lofty heights of wealth editor, overseeing MoneyWeek’s Spending It lifestyle section. Chris travels the globe in pursuit of his work, soaking up the local culture and sampling the very finest in cuisine, hotels and resorts for the magazine’s discerning readership. He also enjoys writing his fortnightly page on collectables, delving into the fascinating world of auctions and art, classic cars, coins, watches, wine and whisky investing.

You can follow Chris on Instagram.