Edipresse Luxury - December 21, 2009
This year, Christie's global sales for watches exceeded US$67m, reaffirming its market dominance in watches. This was following a recent sale that hit a record US$7.3m, the highest sale total ever at their New York saleroom.
"These outstanding results clearly demonstrate Christie's dominance in the global market for fine and rare timepieces," says Aurel Bacs, international co-head for watches at Christie's. "Despite the continued volatility in the financial markets during 2009, all of Christie's sales in this category performed above expectations, with sell-through rates consistently above the 90 per cent mark. As we head into 2010, Christie's is pleased to report that our broad global reach and market-leading success has already yielded exciting new consignments of rare timepieces, which we are ready to offer to our ever-expanding audience of collectors this spring."
Tim Bourne, international co-head for watches at Christie's, added: "2009 was notable for exponential growth in buyer participation from Asian countries, led by mainland China and Hong Kong. At the same time, both established and new collectors from private, trade, and institutional sectors in Europe and the US were active in the market, generating many of the top prices and new auction records that Christie's has achieved throughout the spring and fall seasons."
Aided by the convenience of Christie's LIVE, the company's global online bidding platform, bidders from around the world participated in all eight sales of Important Watches held this year, with an average of 200 online bidders registering for each sale.
