The Geneva May auctions totalled CHF 32’548’000

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The Geneva May auctions totalled CHF 32’548’000 - Phillips Geneva
Phillips Geneva reaffirms its leadership in the market for collectors’ watches.

- Auctions achieve over US $33 Million - More than all other auction houses combined

- “White Glove Sale" for 88 Epic Stainless Steel Chronograph Auction

- Phillips Geneva beats its own world record for any Rolex watch sold at auction

- Rolex Reference 4113 sells to an anonymous room bidder for CHF 2 ’405’000 – the highest price ever paid for a Rolex watch

- In total 6 wristwatches achieve over US $ 1 million.

- Steel Patek Philippe reference 530 sells to collector for CHF 1’445’000, an unprecedented record result.

The May watch auctions held by Phillips, in Association with Bacs & Russo, on 14 and 15 May 2016 realised a combined total of CHF 32’548’000 .

The Start-Stop-Reset 88 Epic Stainless Steel Chronographs -14 May 2016

Comprising 88 hand-selected vintage chronographs of the highest quality, the sale far eclipsed its pre-sale estimate of CHF 6.6m to CHF 13.3m with most lots flying well above their high estimate.

Aurel Bacs, Auctioneer of the sale, stated: “Never would I have dared imagine that our “Quality before Quantity” approach would have been so enthusiastically welcomed by the watch community as shown by tonight’s results. It was a humbling experience to once again work with Pucci Papaleo and some of the world’s leading scholars.”

During the evening, multiple world records were achieved including an all-time world record for any Rolex wristwatch ever sold at auction, for any Rolex Daytona, but also for models by Patek Philippe, TAG Heuer, Universal Genève, Omega, Zenith and many more.

The top lot of the sale was an extremely rare, oversized Rolex stainless steel split-seconds chronograph wristwatch ref. 4113 dating from 1942. One of only twelve examples ever produced, it was at the time only offered to a select group of racing teams and their drivers. The watch was sold to an anonymous buyer in the room for CHF 2’405’000 ($ 2’453’100 / € 2’180’614), more than tripling its low estimate and setting a new record price for any Rolex watch offered at auction.

Moments earlier, another world record price was established for a Rolex Cosmograph Daytona, which fetched CHF 1'985’000 ($ 2’024’700 / € 1’800’000.)

In total, six watches sold over the $1 million threshold in the two auctions, Start-Stop-Reset and Geneva Watch Auction: Three.

The Geneva Watch Auction: Three - 15 May 2016

The auction comprised 137 watches of the highest quality – a group of world-class collectors’ wrist and pocket watches uncompromisingly hand-selected on the basis of their condition, rarity and quality. The sale realised a total of CHF 16’428’ 125 ( $ 16’756’687 / €14’895’381), selling 96% by lot and 98% by value.

The top lot of the evening was an exceptionally rare Patek Philippe perpetual calendar chronograph wristwatch reference 2499, first series, dating from 1956 – realising CHF 1’685’00 0 ($ 1’718’700 / € 1’527’789), and more than doubling its low estimate, it set a new World Record for any yellow gold Patek Philippe reference 2499 ever at auction.

Patek Philippe

Another noteworthy highlight was the stainless steel Patek Philippe Ref. 530 with black dial and applied Breguet numerals, dated 1941 - offered with a pre-auction estimate of SFr 300,000. It sold after an epic bidding battle to a buyer in the room for CHF 1’445’000 ($ 1’473’900 / € 1’310’182), setting a new world record for any stainless steel wristwatch without complications ever sold at auction.

Other records were smashed by the unique reference Patek Philippe 3974 (lot 160) which set a new benchmark for the reference at CHF 1’181’000 ($ 1’204’620 / € 1’070’813), but also lot 190, the absolutely untouched Rolex reference 6542 GMT - Master: at CHF 341’00 0 ($ 347’820 / €309’185), it fetched a world record for a GMT - Master for the second time, having once already achieved this distinction when sold by Aurel Bacs back in 2008.

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