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Results for Sotheby's (Auctions)

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Auction Watch: Sotheby’s Sets Record for Most Expensive Patek Philippe Ref. 2499 SJX Watches
Patek Philippe Ref 2499 Sotheby’s just Apr 27, 2022

Auction Watch: Sotheby’s Sets Record for Most Expensive Patek Philippe Ref. 2499

Sotheby’s just concluded the first sale of the spring auction season, which now moves to Geneva with a series of auctions in the Swiss city starting the first weekend of May. The season opened strongly with several records set at Sotheby’s, most notably with The Nevadian Collector, a sale of Patek Philippe timepieces all owned by an American collector. Made up of 38 watches and one lot of vintage Gay Freres bracelets, the auction was led by an unsurprising favourite that sold for a record price – the possibly unique ref. 2499 in pink gold with a dial signed “Gobbi Milano”. Sotheby’s consultant Sam Hines bringing the hammer down on the ref. 2499 “Gobbi” Four telephone bidders competed for the watch, with bidding swift and aggressive. One of the bidders went big early on, taking the bid from HK$19 million to HK$30 million with one bid – an increment of about US$1.4 million. Eventually one of the phone bidders triumphed and set the record for the most expensive ref. 2499 ever sold at auction. The pink ref. 2499 “Gobbi” hammered for HK$50 million, resulting in a total of HK$60.265 million including the buyer’s premium. That’s equivalent to about US$7.68 million, making it the most expensive ref. 2499 ever sold at auction by some margin. The last record holder was the ref. 2499 “Asprey” that sold in 2018 for about US$ 4 million at Sotheby’s in Geneva – which was also sold by the Nevadian. While the ref. 2499 “Gobbi” was the headline lot,...

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Auction Watch: Sotheby’s to Sell Legendary, Royal Breguet Pocket Watches SJX Watches
Breguet Pocket Watches Sotheby’s watch Sep 15, 2020

Auction Watch: Sotheby’s to Sell Legendary, Royal Breguet Pocket Watches

Sotheby’s watch auction at the end of October will be headlined by a trio of historically important and highly complicated Breguet pocket watches that were all once owned by royalty, and then part of the David Salomons Breguet collection. The top lot will unquestionably be Breguet no. 2788, nicknamed “The Prince Regent’s Resonance”, an experimental 1818 watch with twin balance wheels operating on the principle of resonance. [Update October 27, 2020: The sale of watches from The Museum for Islamic Art will be postponed until sometime in November 2020, due to the museum having decided to rethink the deaccessioning of part of its collection.] The twin balance wheels of Breguet no. 2788 Given their hallowed provenance, the trio of Breguet watches being offered for sale is surprising, but perhaps in keeping with the times. Despite the golden age of pocket watch collecting having seemingly come to an end – or perhaps because of it – several important pocket watches have sold well in the last two years. Amongst the recent highlights is one of the oldest watches known, the 369-year old Cremsdorff preserved in mint condition, and the 20th century masterpiece by George Daniels. The majority of those came from the massive collection put together by the late Erivan Haub, a supermarket tycoon who was perhaps the most important collector of pocket watches in his day. Sotheby’s upcoming London auction, however, has a handful of exceptionally important pocket watches from...

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Long-Hidden Patek Philippe Watches Headline Sotheby’s NY Sale SJX Watches
Patek Philippe Watches Headline Sotheby’s NY Oct 21, 2025

Long-Hidden Patek Philippe Watches Headline Sotheby’s NY Sale

This December at its New York auction. Sotheby’s will bring one a hitherto secret collection of complicated Patek Philippe watches to market, The Olmsted Complications Collection. Accrued by late financier Robert M. Olmsted over six decades, the collection includes watches commissioned by the most prominent American collectors of the early 20th century, including Henry Graves Jr., Thomas E. Emery, James M. Morehead III, and Elliot C. Lee, some of which were completely unknown to the public until now. An “Extra” quality observatory watch made for Henry Graves Jr. It couldn’t be better timed either, with the flagship lot being a previously undocumented Patek Philippe perpetual calendar desk clock, just months after the brand launched its modern equivalent. Better still – at least for American bidders – these watches are already stateside, avoiding the hefty import taxes levied against Switzerland. In addition to rare and exotic pocket watches, the auction also makes room for a few watches with more mainstream appeal, including a Rolex ref. 6100 with a cloisonné enamel dragon dial. The Thomas E. Emery Desk Clock The headline lot is a Patek Philippe desk clock made for one Thomas Emery – the same client who commissioned Patek Philippe’s first wrist-borne perpetual calendar in 1925. Until now there were only two publicly known Patek Philippe perpetual calendar desk clocks, those made for James Ward Packard and Henry Graves Jr. Like its siblings, Emery’s desk ...

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Grand Seiko auctions off last “Pink Flannel Flower” watch to help Australian wildlife Time+Tide
Grand Seiko auctions off last “Pink Jul 5, 2023

Grand Seiko auctions off last “Pink Flannel Flower” watch to help Australian wildlife

Australia has the highest rate of mammal extinction in the world with nearly one in three of our unique mammals at risk of dying out. The Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife are the charity partner of Australia’s national parks, ensuring that our wildlife and wilderness are conserved for future generations. What’s all this got to do … ContinuedThe post Grand Seiko auctions off last “Pink Flannel Flower” watch to help Australian wildlife appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

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Urwerk auctions the UR-105M Trinity piece unique, inspired by a prehistoric monster Time+Tide
Urwerk auctions Apr 9, 2023

Urwerk auctions the UR-105M Trinity piece unique, inspired by a prehistoric monster

Not many watch brands can be proud of the fact that their watches are inspired by dinosaurs, but the deviant horologists over at Urwerk can claim at least two pieces that have drawn inspiration from these overgrown lizards – the UR-100 T-Rex and UR-105 T-Rex. It is the latter that serves as the base for … ContinuedThe post Urwerk auctions the UR-105M Trinity piece unique, inspired by a prehistoric monster appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

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Phillips Geneva XV And Audemars Piguet Royal Oak 50th Auctions Feature Watches With Serious History Quill & Pad
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak 50th Auctions Apr 14, 2022

Phillips Geneva XV And Audemars Piguet Royal Oak 50th Auctions Feature Watches With Serious History

Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo will hold the Geneva Watch Auction XV in Switzerland on May 7 and 8, 2022. What’s particularly interesting about Phillips’ traditional late spring auction this year is that it is preceded by an “appetizer” on May 6, the Royal Oak 50th auction with a catalogue so rich it could arguably serve as the main course. Brendan Cunningham went to the New York City preview and shares a few of his highlights with us here.

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In-Depth: The Mysterious Double-Movement Patek Philippe Pocket Watches SJX Watches
Patek Philippe Pocket Watches Sotheby’s upcoming Dec 6, 2025

In-Depth: The Mysterious Double-Movement Patek Philippe Pocket Watches

Sotheby’s upcoming auction in New York brings to light a pair of remarkable Patek Philippe pocket watches with double movements once owned by John Motley Morehead III (1870-1965), an American patron of the brand with exotic taste. Unknown even to Patek Philippe until now, the two watches each include a primary minute repeating base movement with a secondary movement under charismatic doré dials. Beyond their intrinsic rarity, the golden duo are significant from a historical perspective in offering a portal into early 20th-century American watch collecting, when interest began to shift from decorative to technical. The who A chemist who helped form Union Carbide, Morehead seems to have had a penchant for unusual, highly complicated watches. He also owned a triple complication with upside down “American” perpetual calendar, carillon minute repeater, and a double chronograph (as in, two separate chronographs) as well as a rattrapante but with only two seconds hands. The excellent research by Sotheby’s uncovered record of another of Morehead’s watches that was a carillon repeater with two sets of hands, like these watches, but powered by only one movement. Both double-movement watches going on the block at Sotheby’s have a primary movement with minute repeating on the back and a secondary simple movement on the front. The smaller of the two makes do with just a minute repeating base movement, while the larger watch also has a split-seconds chronograph with a minut...

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Business News: Sotheby’s to Start Weekly Online Watch Auctions SJX Watches
Audemars Piguet Mar 31, 2020

Business News: Sotheby’s to Start Weekly Online Watch Auctions

Having postponed its traditional April and May watch auctions till June and July respectively – no doubt with fingers crossed and a quiet prayer – as a result of the COVID-19 coronavirus, Sotheby’s has just announced Watches Weekly, an ongoing series of online-only watch auctions starting April 1, 2020. The auctions will take place on a rolling basis, with each sale lasting a week, then followed by the next sale, and so on. Each auction be centred around a theme while being relatively compact – the first sale is made up of 19 watches by Rolex and Audemars Piguet. The subsequent auctions will be Patek Philippe Design and Horology from April 8-15, then something for bargain hunters, Swiss Wristwatches with no reserve on April 15-22. Sam Hines, Sotheby’s global head of watches, explained the move in the announcement: “[Clients] are also increasingly confident [of buying] important pieces online. This was demonstrated last week, when we set a new record for a watch sold online at Sotheby’s [162,500 Swiss francs for a Rolex Daytona “Paul Newman” ref. 6262].” According to Mr Hines, the newly-announced online auctions will “complement the calendar of live sales and other online auctions already planned for the rest of the year”, implying that the rest of the auction calendar will proceed as planned. Watches Weekly makes Sotheby’s the first mainstream watch auctioneer – its peers are Christie’s, Phillips, and to a lesser degree, Antiquorum – to s...

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Highlights: Sotheby’s Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch Auction SJX Watches
Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch Auction Taking Jul 17, 2019

Highlights: Sotheby’s Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch Auction

Taking place on July 19, Sotheby’s thematic auction to mark the 1969 Moon landing – Omega Speedmaster: To the Moon and Back, Celebrating 50 years since Apollo 11 – is all about the Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch, plus a handful of watch accessories and lunar paraphernalia. The auction is 50 lots, covering a variety of Speedmaster models, starting from the very affordable to “grail” references like the ref. 2915-1 and “Alaska III”  prototype. For those interesting in a lot-by-lot opinion of the sale, check out the article written by Speedmaster enthusiast William Roberts over at speedmaster101.com. Here’s a look at a couple of highlights. Lot 10 – Speedmaster ref. 2915-1 The ref. 2915-1 is substantially different from the later Moonwatches but is the one that started it all, being the very first reference of the Speedmaster ever. Its particular combination of features – steel bezel, “broad arrow” hands, straight lugs – give it a distinct and appealing look compared to the later Speedmasters. This particular appears correct, albeit showing its age. The wear seems pretty even throughout, from the case to dial to back, and is detailed in Sotheby’s condition report. According to the extract, it was delivered to Mexico in 1958, a year after the model was introduced. With one of the best examples of the ref. 2915-1 having sold for just over US$400,000 at Phillips last year, the estimate for this well-worn example is US$150,000-200,000. Lot 13 ...

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Sotheby’s Presents Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch Auction SJX Watches
Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch Auction Jul 6, 2019

Sotheby’s Presents Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch Auction

To mark the 50th anniversary of the lunar landing – and the Omega Speedmaster’s moment of greatness – Sotheby’s has put together a Speedmaster-only auction that’ll take place in New York on July 19, 2019. A compact sale of just 50 lots, Omega Speedmaster: To the Moon and Back is dominated by vintage Speedmasters, including examples of every mainstream reference, meaning there is something for every budget – the most affordable watch in the sale is lot 31, a Speedmaster ref. 145.022 with a low estimate of just US$3000. Notably, all the watches in the sale have been “vetted by the manufacture”, and are accompanied by archive extracts. And the estimates are generally modest, reflecting the fact that the watches are mostly in good or strong condition, as opposed to being mint or “new old stock”. The top lot is an example of the first Speedmaster ever, the ref. 2915-1. Appearing quite worn but honest in the catalogue photos, it is lot 10 and has an estimate of US$150,000-200,000. And the watch is one of two ref. 2915-1 in the sale, with the other having a lower estimate in keeping with its condition. Lot 10 – Speedmaster ref. 2915-1. Photo – Sotheby’s Other “straight lug” Speedmasters in the sale include a few 2998s, as well as examples of the uncommon 105.002 and the more common 105.003 “Ed White”. With a lower estimate than the 2915-1 but but probably more interesting is the Speedmaster “Alaska III” prototype from 1978. One...

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Auctions: Continuing Our Massive 2026 Geneva Spring Auctions Preview: Christie’s and Sotheby’s Round Things Out (Part 2) Hodinkee
Audemars Piguet Observatory-style watch Photo courtesy Yesterday

Auctions: Continuing Our Massive 2026 Geneva Spring Auctions Preview: Christie’s and Sotheby’s Round Things Out (Part 2)

There's no shortage of watches this auction season—more than 1,200 lots across the major houses—but volume isn't really the story. At Christie's and Sotheby's, the focus feels different this time around, moving past the hype-driven pieces of the early 2020s and back to some genuinely compelling and surprising watches. Last week, we published part one of our preview—today, we're finishing it up with part two. Christie’s I would argue that Christie's always has one of the more subtle and yet impressive catalogs. There are some truly fantastic pieces here and, as always, we'll start at the top. Lot 134, a unique and absolutely stunningly gorgeous (add all the superlatives you want) two-tone 14k pink gold and steel Audemars Piguet "Observatory-style" watch. Photo courtesy Christie's. If you're looking for a watch that my friend and current "Bring a Loupe" writer Weston Cutter called an "immediate knee-weakener," you need to sit down for this one. Lot 134 is a unique and absolutely stunningly gorgeous (add all the superlatives you want) two-tone 14k pink gold and steel Audemars Piguet "Observatory-style" watch. The watch is powered by a 13-ligne 13VZAS movement that was highly modified for precision as a time-only watch, with a large subsidiary seconds at 9 o'clock and a blank subdial at 3 o'clock. Bold numerals, bold design, it's the kind of thing you dream about if you collect early watches, and the estimate is a hilarious CHF 50,000 to 100,000. It should go for way m...

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Geneva Auction Week Report - Highlights From Antiquorum’s Geneva Auction, Phillips’ Watches: Decade One (2015–2025), And The Celebration Of Breguet’s 250th Anniversary Auction At Sotheby’s Fratello
Breguet s 250th Anniversary Auction Nov 10, 2025

Geneva Auction Week Report - Highlights From Antiquorum’s Geneva Auction, Phillips’ Watches: Decade One (2015–2025), And The Celebration Of Breguet’s 250th Anniversary Auction At Sotheby’s

The Watches and Wonders fair and Geneva Watch Days always cause quite a stir in the usually calm and quiet city of Geneva. Auction week has another effect on the town. The thrill of the hunt for watches on auction brings a buzz that’s very different from the thrill of hunting for novelties. Stating that […] Visit Geneva Auction Week Report - Highlights From Antiquorum’s Geneva Auction, Phillips’ Watches: Decade One (2015–2025), And The Celebration Of Breguet’s 250th Anniversary Auction At Sotheby’s to read the full article.

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