Phillips’ watch auction in Geneva over the weekend was the highest-grossing watch auction in history, taking in a two-day total of 74.8 million Swiss francs ($96.3 million), the company announced.
Combined with an earlier online component, the Geneva Watch Auction: XXIII—conducted in association with Bacs & Russo—gave Phillips its first watch season that exceeded $100 million in sales.
The auctioner described the outcome as evidence of “the continued strength and growing breadth of the international watch market,” even in a “challenging global geopolitical context.”
Phillips reported that all but one of the 225 lots in the May 9–10 Geneva event sold. Fourteen lots went for more than CHF 1 million each, and the overall sale set 43 world records, the auction house said.
Among the top lots, a Patek Philippe ref. 2523 “South America” two-crown world timer sold for CHF 7.96 million CHF (more than $10.2 million), which Phillips said set a world record for that model and placed the timepiece among the small number of vintage wristwatches to exceed $10 million at auction. Another Patek Philippe, a ref. 6002G-010 Sky Moon Tourbillon, realized CHF 3.24 million.
Independent watchmakers and contemporary brands also performed strongly, with F.P. Journe models continuing what Phillips called a “stratospheric rise.”
An F.P. Journe Chronomètre à Résonance “Souscription No. 18” achieved CHF 4.88 million (about $6.3 million), while an Akrivia AK-06 sold for CHF 3 million (almost $3.9 million)—a world record for that brand, according to Phillips.
Pocket watches drew significant attention as well. A unique Louis Richard Triple Detent Constant Force One Minute Tourbillon (above) sold for CHF 3.97 million, the world record for a pocket chronometer. A Louis Audemars & Co. “La Royale” Super Complication pocket watch from the 1870s fetched a notable CHF 2.52 million.
Phillips also highlighted strength among early- and mid-20th-century designs, including a Cartier mystery clock that sold for CHF 1.22 million and an Audemars Piguet ref. 5503 triple calendar wristwatch with moon phase that brought CHF 1.09 million. These results reflect the demand for rare and technically complex vintage pieces, the company noted.
A statement from Phillips senior consultants Aurel Bacs and Livia Russo said the sale underscores an evolution of the auction market, with watches now “sitting side by side on the podium with fine art, extraordinary jewelry, historic rare motorcars at the top of the collecting world.”
The JCK News Desk uses AI to help research and produce the first draft of articles. This story was then reviewed by staff writer David Blomquist.
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