This month we take a whistlestop tour through some of the highlights from the Geneva watch auctions. In terms of high value watches Antiquorum got things racing with the sale of a Richard Mille, Reference. RM UP-01 Ferrari wristwatch for CHF 1.7 million, (£1.5 million). Overall their ‘Important Modern & Vintage Timepieces’ auction held between November 9-10 in Geneva achieved a total sale value of CHF 11.9 million, (£10.6 million), including buyer’s premium. The Richard Mille is our cover watch for this report.
Christie’s, 11 November, ‘Rare Watches’ auction achieved a sale total of CHF 18 million (£16.1 million), including buyer’s premium. One of the star lots was a superb recently discovered vintage Breguet wristwatch from 1935 that made CHF 1.9 million, (£1.7 million). Full details of this watch are included in this report.
Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo recorded that over their Geneva weekend held between 8 - 10 November, and across two live auctions, they achieved a total sale value of CHF 50.5 million, (£45.1 million) including buyer’s premium. The auction house noted that the figure was the second highest total ever for a Phillips’ watch auction weekend in Geneva. Four watches sold above CHF 2 million and eight watches sold above CHF 1 million. As you will read in this article one of these watches was a rare early and important F.P. Journe wristwatch that took CHF 7.3 million, (£6.5 million). The sale created a new world record with the F.P. Journe becoming the most expensive wristwatch by an independent watchmaker to be sold at auction.
Over at Sotheby’s they announced that their Geneva weekend had returned their best ever results in 10 years with four world records. Their live auctions included, ‘Important Watches: Part I’ and ‘Treasures of Time’ held on 10 November. Overall the combined total of their live watch sales in Geneva was CHF 20.1 million, (£17.9 million), including buyer’s premium. Sotheby’s noted they had 270 bidders with a predominance of bidders from the USA, Europe and Asia. The standout result was achieved by Patek Philippe. Reference. 1563. This was a unique yellow gold split-second chronograph wristwatch with luminous Breguet numerals and hands, made in 1947. The watch fetched CHF 3.3 million, (£3.0 million), including buyer’s premium.
So, please enjoy reading about some of the highlights from Geneva, with watches spanning from the 1930s right through to contemporary designs. You will also get to read about the ‘one millionth’ ever produced Omega x Swatch MoonSwatch!
Richard Mille x Ferrari watch shows its pace
This would have been just the watch to take along to Formula 1® Las Vegas Grand Prix in November. Preferably you would also have had a pitlane pass and VIP entry to Ferrari’s motorhome hospitality area to show the watch off to its best.
Introduced to great media publicity, the ultra-flat Richard Mille, Reference. RM UP-01 Ferrari wristwatch was made to celebrate the brand’s partnership with Ferrari which started in 2021. The watch was produced in a limited production run of 150 pieces.
Antiquorum have just sold one of these watches at their Geneva auction which took place from November 9-10. Estimated at CHF 1,000,000 - 2,000,000 the watch made CHF 1,730,000, (approx. £1,549,410), including buyer’s premium.
The highly distinctive wristwatch is a tour de force in watchmaking achieving a piece that is only an incredible 1.75 mm thick. To create the watch Richard Mille had to design an all new-ultra flat calibre manual winding movement. As Antiquorum catalogued the movement incorporates a baseplate and bridges made of grade 5 titanium and features a patented ultra-flat escapement with a variable inertia balance wheel in grade 5 titanium. Over 6000 hours of development, research and testing went into the creation of the RM UP-01.
An interesting fact as noted on Richard Mille’s website and in Antiquorum’s cataloguing, in creating the new escapement and balance wheel the brand collaborated with the horological development laboratories at Audemars Piguet Le Locle who specialise in high complication movements. In all the watch movement is only 1.18mm thick.
The case is also made from grade 5 titanium with a satin finish and sized at 51mm x 39mm. The all-important Ferrari prancing horse or ‘Cavallino Rampante’ logo is laser engraved onto the case front. Along with a visible escapement, and time display, there is a dial function selector for either winding (W) or hand-setting (H). This needs a small winding key to operate.
The watch came on a black rubber strap with its original fitted box, warranty card, warranty book, instruction booklet and winding key. Dated to 2024 the watch is virtually brand new.
Second Chance
For those who missed out on the chance to own this watch, Christie's will be offering another Richard Mille, RM UP-01 Ferrari wristwatch, being number 37 of a 150, at their New York ‘Important Watches’ auction on 9 December. The auction house has given the watch an estimate of between USD 1,000,000 – USD 2,000,000.
Astonishing Breguet wristwatch brought to auction
Christie's has sold many rare watches over the years, but this Breguet wristwatch must rate highly as far as fine watches go. As they recorded in their cataloguing the wristwatch is only one of four vintage perpetual calendar wristwatches with retrograde date from any watchmaker known to exist. Three of these were made by Breguet and one by Patek Philippe. Additionally, the watch was only recently discovered having been privately owned and unknown to the watch collecting community. The piece was offered for sale at their Geneva watch auction on 11 November.
The watch itself is a Breguet 18k white gold tonneau shaped perpetual calendar wristwatch, with retrograde date and moon phases. The movement is manual winding with the case sized at 26 mm wide x 40 mm long. The silvered dial is signed ‘Breguet, 3218’. Fitted with a leather strap on a gold deployant clasp.
‘This wristwatch, Breguet no. 3218, is one of the most important ever made by Breguet and one of the single most important wristwatches ever made’.
Following research undertaken by Breguet at their renowned archives in Paris it has been identified that the watch was made in 1935. Adding greatly to its provenance Breguet’s archives have also shown that the wristwatch was originally sold to Monsieur Paul Iribe, on 24 May 1935 for the sum of 10,000 Francs.
Paul Iribe was a well-known French illustrator and designer during the Art Deco period. Apart from illustrations he also designed Hollywood movie stage sets, furniture, and fine jewellery for Coco Chanel in the 1930s.
The estimate for the watch was set at CHF 100,000 – CHF 200,000, which turned out to be reasonably modest as the ‘Breguet, 3218’ went on to be sold for a superb CHF 1,920,500, (approx. £1,715,990), including buyer’s premium. The watch was accompanied at auction with its Breguet Certificate dated 2024.
‘The emergence of this wonderfully stylish Art Deco tonneau-shaped perpetual calendar wristwatch with retrograde date and moon phases is one of the most exciting discoveries of recent times.’
Breguet is probably best known for its illustrious founder Abraham-Louis Breguet (1747-1823) who made outstanding watches and contributed multiple inventions to horology including the tourbillon. Pocket watches made by Abraham-Louis Breguet with multiple complications can achieve very high sums at auction. Today Breguet is part of the Swatch Group along with brands such as Omega.
Early F.P. Journe wristwatch makes £6.5 million
For Geneva this November, Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo created a dedicated thematic auction covering mechanical watchmaking during the last two decades of the 20th century. This is an important period for the watch industry as Swiss brands in particular responded to the quartz crisis of the 1970s. It is also the period during which the independent watchmaking movement as we know it today was formed. The auction was titled ‘Reloaded: The Rebirth of Mechanical Watchmaking, 1980-1999’ and held on 8 November.
Of the leading independents to emerge from the late 20th century the name of François-Paul Journe and his watchmaking firm, F.P. Journe, established in 1999, stand out in the art, craft and science of haute horology watchmaking.
‘The present Tourbillon engraved 15/93 on the dial is the foundation of what Journe was to become, it is the second wristwatch Journe ever made and the first he ever sold’.
The auction featured an F.P. Journe, Tourbillon Souverain à Remontoire d’Egalité, platinum cased wristwatch from 1993. Of note the watch is powered by an 18k yellow gold manual wind calibre movement. As Phillips catalogued the dial shows the origins of F.P. Journe signature design. It is engraved ‘15/93’ and importantly this marks the piece as the second wristwatch Journe ever made and the first he ever sold. The watch was accompanied by its original technical drawings, metal sheet from which the tourbillon cage was cut out, articles, and original invoice.
The wristwatch sold for a very impressive CHF 7,320,000, (approx. £6,540,520), including buyer’s premium. The watch carried a guide estimate of in excess of CHF2,000,000. As Phillips noted in their post auction press release.
‘The watch achieved a new world record and became the most expensive wristwatch by an independent watchmaker to be sold at auction.'
One millionth MoonSwatch ever produced
It is an incredible figure to have achieved, the one millionth MoonSwatch ever produced! The first ‘MoonSwatch’ collection collab by Omega x Swatch was launched in March 2022 to great fanfare and global demand. In the first series 11 Bioceramic quartz MoonSwatch models were released. Their design took inspiration from space and the planets while also incorporating the iconic Omega Speedmaster design. I remember the day of the launch in London and saw the queue that had formed outside the Swatch shop on Oxford Street which ran down the road and into New Bond Street. Amazing!
This particular navy blue ‘Mission to Neptune’, MoonSwatch, Moonshine™ Gold' was specially made by Omega x Swatch to mark the occasion of the one millionth MoonSwatch ever produced.
Uniquely the watch is engraved as the one millionth MoonSwatch inside the watch beneath the battery cover. Plus the seconds hand is coated in Omega’s proprietary Moonshine™ gold, which is an alloy developed by the brand. Finally, the watch comes with a special trophy stand engraved with '1’000’000'.
The MoonSwatch was sold by Christie's at their Geneva watch auction on 11 November to benefit the European Leukodystrophy Association. ELA are a charity association who raise funds to both support people with leukodystrophies and to help fund medical research into the condition.
The amount paid for the one millionth MoonSwatch ever produced was CHF 69,300, (approx. £61,920), including buyer’s premium. This must surely make the watch one of the most expensive Omega x Swatch MoonSwatch timepieces ever. The estimate was set at a much lower CHF 500 – CHF 1,000.
© Banner photo courtesy of Antiquorum.
