Antiquorum’s 35th Anniversary Sale in GenevaPatek Philippe Yellow Gold Calibre 89 Sells for World Record Price of CHF 5,120,000
Antiquorum’s anniversary sale “Celebrating 35 Years of Making History in Time” drew an impressive CHF 12,174,948 in total sales over two days this weekend at the Mandarin Oriental in Geneva. Enthusiastic bidders filled the standing-room only auction room as they anxiously bid on their timepieces of choice. Enthusiasm for the 364 exceptional timepieces coupled with excitement surrounding the caliber 89 had started to develop the moment that Antiquorum announced its intention to sell the famous watch—their cover piece for the catalog.
Strong Internet and telephone bidding came from across the globe including Taiwan, Hong Kong, Italy, Germany and the United States in addition to the spirited bidding in the auction room. Of the 364 lots offered, an outstanding 218% was sold by value and 72% sold by lot.
Highlight: Patek Philippe Calibre 89
The highlight of the sale was unquestionably the Patek Philippe Calibre 89 - the world’s most complicated and talked about timepiece. After several minutes of intense bidding in the room and on the telephone, the final bid reached an extraordinary CHF 5,120,000 – a new world record for this watch and also the most expensive watch sold in 2009 by any auction house in the world. This is the second time Antiquorum has had the pleasure of selling this unique timepiece; in 1989 Antiquorum sold the Calibre 89 in its sale celebrating the 150th anniversary of Patek Philippe for an impressive CHF 4,950,000.
“The incredible result realized for the Calibre 89 in our 35th anniversary auction indicates that the market for the most complicated and important watches in the world remains exceptionally strong. We are extremely honored to have sold this exceptional and unique timepiece for the second time in Antiquorum’s history and are thrilled that we have once again achieved a world record price at auction.” said Robert Maron, Chairman Antiquorum.
Patek Philippe continued to be the top selling brand with several other lots achieving strong prices. A substantial 312,000 CHF price was realized for the Patek Philippe Ref. 3990, a platinum and diamond wristwatch with chronograph, perpetual calendar and moon phases. In addition, the white gold Patek Philippe ref. 5102 “Celestial” brought a remarkable 228,000 CHF. Furthermore, the Patek Philippe Ref. 5041, a rare white gold wristwatch with perpetual calendar sold for a commendable 102,000 CHF
Cloisonne enamel dial timepieces, also a highlight of the sale sold extremely well as expected – the total realized for the 18-watch cloisonné collection was just over CHF 860,000. The Rolex “Caravelle”, Ref. 6100 with cloisonné dial, brought an extraordinary 288,000 CHF, while the Patek Philippe Ref. 2481 in pink gold with cloisonné enamel “Tropics” dial fetched the incredible price of 234,000 CHF. Also attracting much attention, the Omega “Neptune’s Chariot”, an18K yellow gold wristwatch with cloisonné enamel dial, sold for a significant 66,000 CHF. In addition, the Universal “St. George and the Dragon” wristwatch in 18K pink gold with cloisonné enamel dial obtained a notable 42,000 CHF.
“We’re quite pleased by the results for the collection of cloisonné timepieces in our sale,” said Etienne Lemenager, Director & Watch Expert, Antiquorum. “It is evident that these extremely rare and exquisite cloisonne pieces – that are so rarely seen at auction – are in great demand by collectors worldwide as so few were ever produced.
Pocket watches were also in high demand at the November sale. The “Varicolored Gold, Diamonds & Enamel with French Calendar” pocket watch produced circa 1780 sold for 37,200 CHF, more than twice its’ low estimate. Also, the “Summer Bouquet Just & Son, London, No. 2170” pocket watch made for the Chinese market circa 1860 attained an impressive 55,200 CHF, nearly twice its estimate.
Cartier also achieved excellent results in the 35th anniversary sale as confirmed by the “Platinum Split-seconds” chronograph pocket watch - the first platinum split-seconds chronograph pocket watch by Cartier without additional complication to be offered at auction and one of only two examples known to date - sold for an astounding 60,000 CHF, more than twice its’ estimate. Finally, the Cartier “Tank” with London import marks from 1932-33 obtained 39,600 CHF, three times its’ estimated value.