Antiquorum’s latest auction saw world record prices achieved for Patek Philippe watches in a sale that totaled more than £3.57million.
The May 11th Important Modern & Vintage Timepieces auction at Antiquorum Geneva saw record breaking prices for a Patek Philippe ref. 2499 third series in yellow gold and a ref. 5077 with American Indian cloisonné enamel dial, achieving CHF 465,750 (£311,157) and CHF 201,750 (£134,684) respectively.
After a bidding war erupted between six phone bidders and four room bidders for the ref. 2499, it sold for nearly twice its estimate while worldwide interest for the ref. 5077 saw it achieve CHF 80,000 (£53,473) more than expected.
“We are extremely pleased with the outcome for the Philippe Ref. 2499 third series in our May auction,” said Julien Schaerer, managing director and auctioneer at Antiquorum Geneva. “It is clear from today’s results that the market for rare timepieces in excellent condition remains robust.”
The sale of 293 timepieces also included a Patek Philippe Ref. 5016 in platinum CHF 663,750 (£443,964), a Ref. 5959 co-axial split-seconds chronograph in platinum CHF 243,750 (£163,045), a Rolex Ref. 6241 Paul Newman CHF 117,750 (£78,770) and an extremely rare Omega with Cloisonne Dial depicting Neptune’s Chariot CHF 97,350 (£65,123) which is thought to be only the fourth example of the dial to be discovered.
“We are delighted with the results of today’s auction,” said Etienne Lemenager, director and watch expert of Antiquorum Geneva. “We saw highly competitive bidding for the collection of fine timepieces offered in our May sale, with particularly strong participation from internet and phone bidders.”
