Christie's was founded in 1766 by James Christie in London and is the world's oldest continuously-operating major art auction house. The watch department developed in earnest from the 1980s onwards as the secondary market for vintage watches matured. Christie's now runs Important Watches sales in Geneva (typically May and November), Hong Kong, and New York, with thematic single-owner sales scheduled around significant collections. Aurel Bacs led the Geneva watch department through the 2000s before founding Phillips' Bacs & Russo joint venture in 2014.
Two Christie's sales are particularly cited as benchmarks. The November 2016 Geneva sale of the only-known steel Patek Philippe 1518 perpetual chronograph for CHF 11.0M was the highest auction price for any Patek up to that date. The October 2017 New York sale of Paul Newman's personal Rolex Daytona ref. 6239, the watch that gave the entire 'Paul Newman' Daytona its name, sold for $17.75M and held the wristwatch auction record until late 2019. Christie's continues to compete head-to-head with Sotheby's and Phillips for landmark consignments.