A Philippe Dufour Simplicity, among the most sought-after watches in independent watchmaking, leads an unreserved online auction of timepieces forfeited in a UK payroll fraud case.
Wilsons Auctions is selling the watches for UK government and law enforcement agencies, which seized them as proceeds of crime. Bidding opens Oct. 29 at 11 a.m. and closes at the same hour the following day. It’s online only, and with no reserves, every lot will be sold.
The watches come out of an HMRC investigation into a multimillion-pound fraud tied to outsourced labor payroll. Investigators tied more than £7 million in luxury watch purchases to the scheme over three years. Five pieces worth roughly £1 million were confiscated from someone trying to exit the country.
The Dufour is serial No. 199, in a 37 mm rose gold case with a white dial, leather strap, and original box. Wilsons believes it sits near the end of the model’s run. Dufour introduced the Simplicity in 2000, and it remains the only regular production watch he has made. Wilsons puts output at around 200 pieces, built to order across about a dozen years, with each taking two to three years.
Also offered is a Patek Philippe 5204R-011, a perpetual calendar split-seconds chronograph with a 40 mm rose gold case and slate gray sunburst dial. The reference arrived in 2021 and is no longer in production.
Two Audemars Piguet Royal Oaks round out the top end: a Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon in steel with a black and blue dial, and a 41 mm steel reference 26331ST chronograph with a blue dial. An Omega Speedmaster 44.25 mm in steel with a black dial comes with box and papers.
“This is one of the most exciting groups of watches we have had the privilege of offering at Wilsons Auctions,” said James Guiler, the company’s luxury goods specialist, in a statement. He added that because the sale is unreserved, “every one of them will sell on the day.”
Guiler said more lots are still being added to the sale.
(Photos courtesy of Wilsons Auctions)
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