The auction ‘Watches Online: The Dubai Edit, Featuring Stories in Time: A Collection of Exceptional Watches’, organised by Christie’s in Dubai on 1 May 2025, featured an exclusive selection of 129 timepieces from the finest watch brands, chosen for their condition, rarity and quality. Total sales, including fees: $3,011,526 USD, representing 84% of the lots offered.
BEST RESULTS
Lot 1: GREUBEL FORSEY – A unique and impressive titanium tourbillon wristwatch. Sold for $302,400 USD
Lot 2: GREUBEL FORSEY – An extremely rare and sporty limited-edition carbon composite wristwatch. Sold for $176,400 USD
Lot 3: FERDINAND BERTHOUD – A superbly crafted openwork gold wristwatch with manual winding. Sold for $126,000 USD
BEST PERFORMANCES
Lot 128: CARTIER Circa 2021 – A pair of cufflinks in white gold, set with onyx, diamonds and emeralds. 354% difference between the low estimate and the final result (USD 22,680)
Lot 80: BREGUET – An automatic white gold wristwatch with date. 320% difference between the low estimate and the final result (USD 12,600)
Lot 123: JAEGER-LECOULTRE Circa 1960 – A very rare 18-carat gold wristwatch with a dark blue dial, made for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. 194% difference between the low estimate and the final result (USD 8,820)
BREAKDOWN BY BRAND
PATEK PHILIPPE
Topping the list of the highest prices achieved at the auction, PATEK PHILIPPE recorded the highest total for the sale at $742,770 USD
GREUBEL FORSEY
Ranking second in the list of top sale prices, GREUBEL FORSEY achieved a total of $478,800 USD
ROLEX
With a watch that fetched $60,480 USD, ROLEX is the third best-performing brand in this sale, with a total of $286,650 USD
These three brands accounted for a total of $1,508,220 USD, representing 50% of the total sale
AVERAGE PRICE PER LOT
Given the total number of lots—129 in all, including 21 unsold lots—the average price per lot was $27,885 USD
CONCLUSION
This sale has once again demonstrated the dynamism of the auction market; it is worth noting the presence of the following brands in the top three: PATEK PHILIPPE, GREUBEL FORSEY and ROLEX
