Swiss watchmaker Patek Philippe took the top price and set a record at the Antiquorum watch auctioneers’ “Important Watches, Pocket watches & Clocks” auction on Nov. 13, at the Palace Hilton Hotel in Geneva, Switzerland.

The Swiss watchmaker’s platinum Monopoussoir wristwatch (1937), with a single-button chronograph and two-tone sector dial, sold for $1.23 million. That puts it among the 20 most important wristwatches ever sold at auction, said an Antiquorum statement.

A spectacular diamond-set pocket watch (1,150 diamonds, with the largest weighing 14,50 cts.) with seven complications, attributed to Henri Grandjean & Cie, of Switzerland and sold to the Sixth Nizam of Hyderabad, then one of the world’s richest men, sold for $969.315. That’s a world record for a watch made for the Indian market. It also put the watch among the 20 most important pocket- and form watches ever sold at auction, according to value.

Also noteworthy at the Antiquorum sale:
The prototype (2005) of TAG Heuer’s Calibre 360 concept chronograph sold for about $17,338), the highest price for a TAG Heuer timepiece in auction history. The watch is the first mechanical wrist chronograph to measure and display time to 1/100th of a second. Sale proceeds went to Geneva’s Musée de l’Horlogerie et de l’Emaillerie (watchmaking and enamelwork museum) .TAG Heuer also made a generous donation to the museum, including a group of 12 watches and movements that encapsulate the brand’s 145-year-history.

* Rolex’s so-called Paul Newman Daytona 18k yellow gold model, (1970) sold for $81,478, while the Breguet Museum acquired a very important piece from its history, the “Regulateur Astronomique” timepiece, for $170,553.

The auction room at the Palace Hilton Hotel in Geneva was full, with collectors from around the world, including representatives of  several public collections  (among them, the museums of the luxury brands Breguet and Hatot, and the Geneva Museum of Watchmaking. On-line bidding from all over the world was strong, especially from the Asian market (including China, Taiwan and Hong Kong), as well as the United States and Russia. In addition,15 telephone lines were opened for numerous clients wishing to bid by phone from Italy, France, Asia and the United States, said Antiquorum. 

The sale offered 250 timepieces, spanning several centuries of fine watch making. Altogether, they sold for nearly $6.4 million.

JCK