Vintage in the heart of global market for watch auctions
Ader Watches
The month of March was the starting point of the season for watch auctions. Through all pieces selected in the last Dubai and Hong Kong sales, we can already point out the main trends of this upcoming season from an international perspective.
Antiquorum Hong Kong March 18th :
With a total amount of 2 184 540 $, Antiquorum achieved acceptable results in regards to its eclectic selection of watches. The average price is 17 337 $ per lot for a total of 126 lots sold, which is half of all lots presented during this first session of the season in Hong Kong.
The match point between the two star brands Rolex and Patek Philippe turned out to be the perfect draw; Rolex represented 34% of the auction (43 lots from 126 sold) but obtained an average price value of 17 285 $ for Patek Philippe and 17 240 $ for Rolex, which is extremely close. Almost perfect equality between two star brands !!
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lot 127
lot 137
lot 99
lot 202
With more atypical objects, we notice more contrasted results on this auction with prices achieved in perfect line with original estimates, such as both examples previously selected by us, the reference DB28T by De Bethune sold for 65 965 $ and the Art Deco clock by Vacheron Constantin sold for 139 524 $.
This year again Rolex is the star brand with this strong result achieved on lot 99, Rolex military Pre Daytona ref. 6238 made for Fuerza Aerea del Peru, sold for 175 086 $. Rolex can hide various watches from one another but it remains the star brand among all others by far.
In a different manner, we should also take note of the result achieved by the pink gold tourbillon limited to 28 examples, Louis Moinet Verlator Tourbillon, lot 202, sold for 104 561 $, which reinforces the interest of Asian buyers for Swiss independent watchmakers
Christie’s Dubai March 19th :
The dynamics is perfectly clear at Chrsitie’s at the beginning of this season with this first auction in Dubai which obtains the best result with a total amount of 5 353 312 $ and an average price of 35 021 $ for 153 lots sold.
In this auction the match point was between Cartier and Rolex, both brands were well represented in the catalogue, each with 28 lots. The average price value for Cartier was 17 535 $ which is twice lower than Rolex, most understandable in regards to the star lot of this auction, the Rolex Paul Newman Panda, which played a determining role in the final 34 928 $ average price.
lot 36
lot 17
lot 184
This fully complete box and papers Rolex ref. 6263 Paul Newman Panda caused a deep battle of numerous bids to reach the final score of 421 500 $ under the pressure of strong collectors, knowing it was reasonably estimated between 150 000 and 250 000 $. This result clearly demonstrates that the market phenomenon for vintage watches is now global and not only concentrated in Geneva like previous years.
The result achieved by the Universal Space Compax, lot 17, sold twice its previous estimate clearly shows the vitality of the vintage watch market. On the other hand, Patek Philippe ref. 2499/100, lot 184, stayed within the estimate range. If we have new brands emerging on the vintage watch market like Universal, the fact remains that the diversity beyond star brands makes the strength of the vintage watch market globally.
All these figures reinforce a phenomenon which persists on the vintage watch market where a more diverse offering of different models and brands beyond star brands like Patek Philippe and Rolex makes the market stronger.
All these results give us an overview of the watch market beginning of 2017, vintage pieces are still very much appreciated on all continents and we are now entering in a global market perspective where vintage watch auction results are now even internationally.
