Almost a month after a week full of emotions from 12 to 14 May, here comes the day of final analysis ! Phillips surprised us during this week in Geneva with a magnificent result of $ 33,536,709, out of proportion to other competitors Christie’s, Sotheby’s and Antiquorum. Indeed, the sale of the now famous new world record for Rolex, the Ref. 6062 “Bao Dai”, has largely contributed to this amazing result from the market leader. Thus the average amount per lot reaches $ 152,439 at Phillips.

In second position Christie’s reached a total amount of $ 16,492,950, pushing the average price per lot sold at $ 65,190. Then comes Antiquorum with a very good score at $ 9,805,185 at an average price price per lot at $ 23,346 per lot and finally in last position, Sotheby’s achieved a minor score at $ 3,453,623 with a $ 21,059 on average per lot sold.

As you know, these results need to be carefully analyzed, starting with the number of lots sold that differ greatly among auction houses: 220 at Phillips, against 253 at Christies, Antiquorum 420 and finally 164 at Sotheby’s. We can analyze any results at Sotheby’s as a lower number of lots sold compared to other uction houses or as a lack (perhaps selected) of lots included in each session. However compared to Antiquorum, the difference in average price per lot is only of $ 2,000 meaning Antiquorum relied on a significant number of lots (420 in total) including a magnificent collection of antique enamelled watches allowing them to do a very good score ahead of Sotheby’s.

Phillips :
At Phillips in collaboration with the famous duo Bacs & Russo, the result of the sale reached $ 33,536,709 for 220 lots sold, achieving an average per lot sold of $ 152,439, which is not the “icing on the cake” but rather the “glaze cherry icing”, which can be qualified as “crème de la crème”.

Of all the auction results above a million in Geneva this season, Phillips won hands down the fight with more than five auction results at the fateful limit of a million dollars out of six in total; its direct competitor Christie’s only managed to get one bid above 2 million for a rare and historical Patek Philippe. But beyond this rain of new records, it is interesting to note that this year Rolex dethroned Patek Philippe auction record breaking results with three out of six best results achieved during this last Geneva session.
If we add the best three results on the podium from Phillips, they consist mainly of Rolex watches that have become real trophies for biggest collectors nowadays. Never there a few years most informed observers would have imagined such market dominance by Rolex on the Geneva auction scene. The total of three Rolex watches accounted for nearly 10 million dollars, which is double the three millionaire results for all complicated watches Patek Philippe, Phillips and Christie’s together: the World Time Ref. 2523/1 and Tiffany Ref. 2499 at Phillips and Ref. 2497 “Haile Selassie” at Christie’s, which together accounted only for nearly 6 million dollars in total.
An edifying figure which leads us to think about the dynamics on Rolex for some time and drives us to wonder about the nature of the watch market in the near future. It seems the trend is going towards the brand with the crown logo, which fascinates more and more young billionaires’ quest for rainy and exceptional timepieces ! Note that the Daytona “lemon dial” Ref. 6263 so called “The Legend” sold more than 3 million Swiss francs at Phillips in this session more than triple the price of the last result achieved at Antiquorum in May 2013 for a similar Rolex Daytona “lemon dial”, a world record around $ 850,000 at the time.
From my point of view, the vintage watch market is following the recent upward trend in recent years to its highest peaks with Rolex and Patek Philippe mainly, but it is only a mirror image of the watch industry that has doubled its business volume in the space of 15 years from early 2000’s. If we draw a parallel for the world records wristwatches by Patek Philippe and Rolex, the final price has increased ten times more between 2002 and 2017. The Rolex Ref . 6062 “Bao Dai” as an example with its new hammer price made more than 5 million, which is ten times more than its original price when it was first auctioned at Phillips in 2002, already under the hammer of Aurel Bacs.
The match point between Rolex and Patek Philippe was a priori unequal but the results show a battle a little tighter: with 80 lots for Rolex against 51 Patek Philippe, each respectively obtained 244 652 $ and 214 $ 114 as an average price sold per lot value. Once again Rolex dominates the game which is a novelty this year of the Geneva auction scene.
“Less is more” is certainly the adjective that best defined the auction at Phillips, but well beyond record results, this niche market for exceptional pieces reflects a more demanding small circle of “happy few” willing to bid against each other for the best of the best in the vintage world of watches. A single comment comes to mind, the barometer of Daytona under all its forms is really today that of the health of the vintage watch market by all means. And one can say that it’s super strong !!!

 

Christie’s :

Christie’s had taken out the nest to us specially for this Geneva week a magnificent selection of great Rolex vintage watches, the key lot of which was a steel Rolex Daytona Ref. 6263 “Khanjar” offered by the Sultan of Oman himself to the current owner (now former owner) with a whole set of documents of origin, essential for collectors.
Estimated between 320,000 and 420,000 $, this piece inevitably caught the eye of discerning collectors and reached the record price of $ 729 194. Once again the selection of Rolex did not leave room for errors and collectors were not mistaken, selecting only the best with incredible auction results like this piece which perfectly illustrates market demand for unknown pieces with good provenance, offered for the first time on the auction block.
If the market for Rolex has long been regarded by some as a market where watches were alike without really extensive research, it is clear that today best specialists in the field have managed to impose their vision with huge success. Personally, I always considered this area of the watch market as the most difficult one, with some many case designs and extensive dial variants that can sometimes increase the prize by a ratio of one hundred times. It is necessary to remain humble in front of the mountain Rolex who holds at the same time treasures as well as immense traps.

One has to note that Thomas Perazzi at Christie’s likes Rolex, he put numerous efforts in this selection which kept its promises under the laudatory title “A Rolex Afternoon”, which caught the discerning eye of many fans testified by the impressive results of some lots.

During these two sessions, the match point was awarded to Rolex with its largest number of lots, 107 for an average of $ 66,397, against only 40 Patek Philippe and yet this time Patek Philippe wins with an impressive average price per lot of $ 213,661. This was possible mainly due the highlight cover lot, Patek Philippe historical Ref. 2497 from “Haile Selassie” which reached the most important result in the “PP” category from all auction houses at $ 3,202,400.

You have also probably heard of the Manufacture H. Moser & Cie. that created a “cheese” watch bringing together the Swiss symbols with alpine cheese, a cowhide strap and a smoky red dial reminiscent of the flag of the country.
This watch was presented with another one, as a pair under lot 116, manufactured 100% in Switzerland, the set sold for $ 128,084 in favor of the Swiss Foundation for Culture. In his tender, the Christie’s team proudly wore a cap that put the Swiss Made again in the spotlight with this caption: “MAKE SWISS MADE GREAT AGAIN.”
A small wink that says something about the symbolism of the “SWISS MADE”. It is not enough to look at the records fall with bliss, you have to put the work of Swiss watchmakers at fair value and star brands are the result of several years of work to transmit a unique knowledge to new generations, provided it lasts for ever.

Antiquorum :

Despite its 3rd position with a total amount of $ 9,805,185, one can not withdraw Antiquorum’s very interesting range of unusual objects of all kinds, from various manufacturers, including this selection of still beautiful watches by the “dead brand’s society”, which creates a real dynamic for young collectors.

This selection quite eclectic earned Antiquorum an extra good point; since we observed among other competitors a selection of watches with a range of less affordable prices. We thus find there a wide range of objects such as watchmaking tools, posters, watches of all kinds, from pocket to wrist watches, not to mention a few clocks and enamel watches, in the image of this superb collection of antique watches that attracted the eye of collectors, only the two mandolins did not find a buyer while, although considered in our previous articles as museum quality pieces.

A real blow of hat in the work of experts Etienne Lemenager and Julien Schaerer, who best knew how to give best values in the historical background of watchmaking throughout centuries, in particular some rare and few pieces not necessarily signed by star brands like Patek Philippe or Rolex, those that we are used to seeing sale after sale at the top of the podium.

Rolex thus saw a total of $ 2,536,080 for this sale what represents nearly 26% of the sale Antiquorum! 26% de la vente Antiquorum ! One small disappointment for us is the non sale of the Rolex Daytona 35 which we highlighted in our last article, despite its very rare variant on dial it did not find a buyer. However, the domination on the number of Rolex sold at auction confirms itself as a growing trend for all, Patek Philippe owners are probably less willing to part with their treasures unless exceptionally rare!

 

Sotheby’s :

At Sotheby’s, lot 59 previously selected reached $ 1,610. Remember, this rare edition of the Rolex book “Watches and Enamels of Geneva” gathers the collection of antique watches from its founder, Hans Wilsdorf, signed by the hand. Estimated between $ 1,000 and 2,000, he remained in the range of expert estimates.

The match point which takes place every sale between star brands Rolex and Patek Philippe presents lower results for Sotheby’s. Indeed only 22 lots for each brand with an average price per sold lot of $ 20,357 for Rolex and $ 69,349 for Patek Philippe. It must be said that the sale of lot 174, a rare Patek Philippe reaching $ 452,985 has helped significantly.

But the disappointment of this auction session in May was the unsold lot of Caliber 89 by Patek Philippe, this masterpiece of horology made for the 150th anniversary of the Geneva watch manufacturer that yet failed to catch the eye of the connoisseur in the range of the estimate.

If one were to look at this unsold lot in view of this record rainfall of all kinds for Rolex, it would obviously ask ourselves the right questions on the evolution of the watch market these recent years that have lead collectors to evolve towards Rolex sport watches more recognizable as a symbol status. It is first important to put into perspective the demand for a new generation of e-collectors who have largely been influenced by new digital medias and especially the online community.

Indeed, Sotheby’s despite the outstanding work behind the promotion of this unique and exceptional piece may not have followed the reflections of all blogs having reported that this watch, beyond its uniqueness, was known to the market and proposed last year to be sold privately by its main rival Christie’s. Despite the prestige of this incredible piece added to the world record all categories from the Graves Surpercomplication in 2014 at Sotheby’s, which might have encouraged new potential buyers, it did not fulfill its promises but only a bold bet impractical in a changing market.

But the non-sale of this exceptional piece is explained elsewhere in my opinion, we are now at a turning point of the vintage market towards watches with a different appeal to collectors, which goes well beyond the mere accumulation of complications but a wristwatch with a “trendy” vintage look, just like the auction record at Sotheby’s a week before for a painting by Basquiat sold for over 100 million dollars. It is a Generational phenomenon that characterizes this new generation of “young billionaires” who rule the auction in all categories.

At any point the Geneva auction session this time was the reflection of a mature market and bouncy, the actors know more than ever how to position star brands as well as stars models, but niche sectors like “the dead brand’s society” will undoubtedly lead to attracting a whole new generation of fans in the years to come.

But yet to come is maybe the next record breaking vintage piece, the Rolex Daytona “Paul Neman” from Mr. Paul Newman himself, to be auctioned by Phillips in New York next season. This will be undoubtedly the final bouquet of fire works of this auction season 2017!

Geoffroy Ader