Results And Thoughts On Christie's Rare Watches Sale, Including Strong Results For Breguet And A Time-Only Patek Philippe 1503

It was announced as the star of the auction, forecast with the highest estimate, and given a central position on the back cover of the Christie's catalog. And after 20 minutes of intense bidding between the Breguet Museum and a private collector, lot 217 became so much more. The Havas Breguet pocket watch – made in all likelihood by Abraham-Louis Breguet's very own hands, since it's dated ca. 1800 – beat every single lot presented during Auction Week, and became the second most expensive Breguet ever sold at auction at CHF 3,245,000 (including buyer's premium). You can read more about this phenomenal pocket watch here.

And it just kept getting better for Breguet, with an outstanding result for the champagne dial triple calendar and moon phase. No. 1039 was an early standout, and my personal pick of the catalogue, but while I was sure it would attract great interest in Geneva, I didn't think it would fetch over 10 times its high estimate (selling for CHF 137,000), handily beating the other Breguet-signed triple calendar (CHF 75,000) everyone expected collectors to fight over in the process. Of course, it only takes two stubborn collectors to drive up the price of a lot, but rarity and condition are behind this very strong performance. And since Breguet's collection is not as well documented as Patek Phillipe's, Audemars Piguet's or Vacheron Constantin's, collectors tend to jump when a very rare reference shows up. Vintage Breguet is on the up.

Make no mistake though, Patek Philippe complications continue to rule the auction market – even if it was a time-only that stole the show. Seven of the top 10 results in the Christie's auction belonged to Patek complications, and all fetched above their estimates. To no one's surprise, the incredible stainless-steel sector dial reference 530 finished strongest, realizing a total price of CHF 1,205,000 against a high estimate of CHF 800,000. The Dual-Crown World-Timer Reference 2523/2 – picked by Jack Forster during our auction preview – followed close behind with a final price of CHF 1,121,000.

Perpetual calendars also had great results. A new record for white-gold reference 3448 was set by a very rare example with an inward facing date ring and an Aprior dial (selling for CHF 629,000), while the reference 2499 confirmed its enduring appeal, 24 hours after another example broke the million dollar mark, with this example selling for CHF 965,000.

The "other" Patek Philippe making its way into the top 10 was a time-only, stainless-steel Patek Philippe with a black dial and Breguet numerals. Sound familiar? Another, presented by Phillips only 24 hours before the Christie's sale had grabbed the headlines when it hammered in for a whopping CHF 1,445,000 (including buyer's premium).

No doubt, someone had seen that, and thought the $30-50k estimate of this Calatrava-cased reference 1503 suddenly seemed like a bargain. In the end, lot 59 sold for CHF 329,000 (roughly $338,000 all in). In comparison, a silver dial 1503 sold for CHF 20,000 ($20,544). But the big takeaway is that stainless-steel, time-only Patek Philippe is au gout du jour – with very strong performances elsewhere by this reference 3417 Anti-Magnetic and other 1503s over the weekend.

Meanwhile, Rolex's top lots were the gorgeous "John Player Special" Cosmograph (CHF 305,000) and the reference 6200 with 3-6-9 Explorer dial (CHF 293,000) – both watches confirming that condition and scarcity remain the guiding principle for major collectors.

One of the biggest surprises of the day had to be an early pass on an extremely rare (one of only ten) Audemars Piguet Triple Calendar Chronograph with moon phases. According to Audemars Piguet historian Michael Friedman, the sub-registers showed signs of restoration, and the brand advised collectors to stay away.

In other news, yesterday's auction gave us the opportunity to catch up with a pocket watch featured not long ago on HODINKEE. And I have to say, the Art Deco pocket watch – once part of the Jean Dollfus collection – looked even better in the flesh. In the end, it did not follow the example set by lots 123 and 131, coming up a little short of its low estimate – selling for CHF 27,500. Whoever bought it got a bargain.

At the end of the day, the sale total came to CHF 18,397,125 (including buyer's premium). For all the results from the auction, click here.

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