The watch auctions in New York this month topped out at $52 million, the combined sales of Sotheby’s Important Watches ($14.5 million), Christie’s Important Watches ($11,204,650); and Phillips in Association With Bacs & Russo New York Watch Auction: Nine ($25,952,374). That’s a grand total of $51,704,650 that people spent on pre-owned watches last weekend.
Patek Philippe Sky Moon Tourbillon 5002P-001
Christie’s
The top lot was a rarely seen Patek Philippe Sky Moon Tourbillon ref. 5002P-001, at the Christie’s auction. It sold for $1,562,500 over its estimate of $1.2 million to $2.1 million. The watch has 12 complications, including a cathedral minute repeater, tourbillon, perpetual calendar, sidereal time and sky chart. Years ago, I held one of these masterpieces in my (gloved) hand during a visit to the Patek Philippe salon in Geneva, and the clarity of the sound is truly outstanding. The case is huge, but it holds pretty much the entire universe of what has ever been achieved in high watchmaking. Few other watches in the world compare.
Phillips
The top lot in the Phillips sale was a pink gold Patek Philippe Ref. 1518, selling for $1.8 million. Only 281 Ref. 1518s were ever made, and only a small number in pink gold—and yet, suspiciously, we keep seeing them come up at auction. The top lot in the Sotheby’s sale was also a pink gold Ref. 1518, selling for $1.5 million. This one was a gift in 1952 to Joseph A. Kaplan, a self-made entrepreneur, by his son Harold Kaplan, and had remained in the same family, passed from father to son. It’s nice to see the provenance angle extending beyond celebrity connections to interesting personal narratives of notable but not necessarily famous people. Another example of that is Alan “Hammer” Bloore, an…