Christie’s Auction Fetches $128.7 Million in Geneva

This week Christie’s auction house hosted its Spring auction of jewellery, watches and wine in Geneva. With pieces from Patek Philippe and Rolex, as well as a stunning 101.73-carat diamond, the auction realized a total of US$128,773,791.

Of the lots auctioned off in Geneva, the ‘Important Watches including A Gentleman’s Pursuit for Excellence, Part II’ section alone fetched a total result of US$22,608,583. The most valuable lot of the watches sale was an historically important 1981 white gold automatic perpetual calendar wristwatch with moon phase and leap year (ref. 3448) by Patek Philippe. The Patek Philippe (pictured above) fetched an impressive US$1,701,690, setting a world auction record for this reference in white gold. A new world record was also set by a Rolex ref. 4113 for the highest amount fetched by a Rolex wristwatch at auction.

Meanwhile, the ‘Magnificent Jewels’ auction alone brought in US$102,140,780. The top lot was a 101.73-carat spear-shaped flawless diamond that sold to Harry Winston for US$26,737,913 ($254,400 per carat).

Aurel Bacs, the International Head of Christie’s Watch Department, told us; “In a full and energetic room, Christie’s Geneva marathon-auction sale of important watches reconfirmed the company’s absolute leadership of the category. In an ever increasingly demanding market, our rigorously curated sale attracted buyers from 40 different countries across five continents, selling 94% by lot and 93% by value. While Asian bidders emerged as the most competitive, we never saw such strong activity from the US in a Geneva sale. Christie’s also reaffirmed their predominance in the field of Rolex wristwatches by setting a new world record price for a timepiece by the renowned Swiss manufacture.”

Photos courtesy Christie’s.