The ‘Important Watches I’ auction organised by Sotheby’s in Hong Kong on 24 April 2025 featured an exclusive selection of 172 timepieces from leading watch brands, chosen for their condition, rarity and quality. Total sales, including fees: $21,816,645 USD, representing 100% of the lots offered.
BEST RESULTS
Lot 2291: Patek Philippe – A rose gold wristwatch with a chronograph, perpetual calendar and moon phase display, likely unique and of great historical significance, sold by Trucchi. Sold for $2,171,321 USD
Lot 2301: Patek Philippe – A unique and historically significant full-calendar yellow gold wristwatch with moon phases and Breguet numerals. Manufactured in 1937 and sold to Tiffany & Co. in 1940. Sold for $1,479,385 USD
Lot 2316: Richard Mille – Limited edition skeleton chronograph wristwatch in TPT carbon and white TPT quartz tourbillon split-seconds Sold for $1,369,305 USD
BEST PERFORMANCES
Lot 2254: Cartier Circa 2015 – A limited edition skeleton wristwatch in platinum set with diamonds 524% difference between the low estimate and the final result (US$482,924)
Lot 2205: Audemars Piguet circa 1995 – Yellow gold skeleton watch for twenty-dollar coins 376% variation between the base estimate and the final result (USD 24,555)
Lot 2245: Cartier circa 1915 – Silver desk clock with minute repeater, agate and canary yellow guilloché enamel, bearing the Cartier Heritage resale number HAS664 345% difference between the low estimate and the final result (USD 57,296)
BREAKDOWN BY BRAND
Patek Philippe
Topping the list of the highest prices achieved at the auction, Patek Philippe recorded the highest total of $6,988,610 USD
Richard Mille
Ranking second in the list of the highest prices achieved at the auction, Richard Mille recorded a total of $2,479,211 USD
Rolex
With a watch that fetched $311,036 USD, Rolex is the third best-performing brand in this sale, achieving a total of $1,839,203 USD.
These three brands account for a total of $11,307,024 USD, representing 52% of the total sale.
AVERAGE PRICE PER LOT
Given the total number of lots – 172 in all, with 0 unsold lots – the average price per lot was $126,841 USD
CONCLUSION
This sale has once again demonstrated the vitality of the auction market; the top three brands were: Patek Philippe, Richard Mille and Rolex
