Phillips has announced a significant expansion of its team of international watch specialists, adding expertise in New York, Geneva and Hong Kong. The new appointments are led by Douglas Escribano, a widely recognized authority on extraordinary timepieces, as a Senior International Specialist in New York. Also joining the team are Amy Chow as Senior Specialist in Hong Kong and Alex Ghotbi.
Doug Escribano spent more than 10 years at the Christie’s watch department, most recently as Vice President and Head of Sale, spearheading many groundbreaking sales of important watches. In this role, he sourced timepieces for global auctions and private sales and worked with exclusive collectors.
Amy started her career in watches at Sotheby’s in Hong Kong, moving to Christie’s where she held a Senior Specialist position until 2010. She then spent the next 5 years with China Guardian, a prominent auction house in mainland China.
Alex Ghotbi comes to Phillips from Vacheron Constantin, one of the world’s most prestigious watch brands, where he was the Community & Social Media Manager in Geneva. At Vacheron, he was the founder of the Vacheron Constantin Collectors Club, the first of its kind in the watch industry. Prior to joining the watch company, he led the Capital Markets/Financing Group for AXA, a financial services company in Paris.
In addition, Tiffany To joined the Hong Kong Watches Team as an Associate Specialist in Hong Kong. A recent graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, she held internships at Christie’s and Sotheby’s.
Last year, Phillips appointed prominent watch specialist Sam Hines as International Head of Watches to work alongside exclusive consultants Aurel Bacs and Livia Russo to lead the global team of specialists from Phillips Asian Headquarters in Hong Kong. In a little more than a year since the department’s inception, the Phillips Watches team has captured a market-leading position amid the ever-increasing demand for the highest quality pieces and the rarest models across the globe. Following the successes of the inaugural watch auctions in Geneva and Hong Kong last year, the expanded team will prepare for the May auctions in Geneva, which include a special thematic sale of epic steel chronographs on May 14, and the Hong Kong sale on May 31.
