The “Important Watches” auction, held by Sotheby’s in Geneva on May 10, 2026, featured an exclusive selection of 141 timepieces from the world’s leading watchmakers, chosen for their condition, rarity, and quality. Total sale, including buyer’s premium: $19,244,019 USD, with 100% of the lots sold.
BEST RESULTS
Lot 31: A. LANGE & SÖHNE – An extremely rare and highly important, fresh-to-the-market, pink gold hunting cased perpetual calendar, minute repeating, grande and petite sonnerie, keyless lever clock watch with moon phases, double chronograph and register, No. 62’508 | The fifth watch in the series of nine Grande Complications, and the final example made in pink gold, sold for $2,040,256 USD
Lot 69: ROLEX – A yellow gold chronograph wristwatch sold for $1,481,010 USD
Lot 78: ROLEX – A 14-carat yellow gold chronograph wristwatch with bracelet sold for $822,784 USD
BEST PERFORMANCES
Lot 136: PATEK PHILIPPE Circa 1967 – A white gold wristwatch with date – 723% increase over the low estimate ($74,049 USD)
Lot 95: CARTIER Circa 0 – A yellow gold and champlevé enamel Art Deco wristwatch with ‘guillotine’ shutters – 593% increase over the low estimate ($213,923 USD)
Lot 124: CARTIER Circa 2010 – A pink gold and diamond-set wristwatch – 540% increase over the low estimate ($246,835 USD)
BREAKDOWN BY BRAND
ROLEX
Ranking first among the highest-selling brands of the auction, ROLEX achieved the highest total sales, reaching $4,429,018 USD.
PATEK PHILIPPE
Ranking second among the highest-selling brands of the auction, PATEK PHILIPPE generated total sales of $3,287,805 USD.
CARTIER
With a watch that sold for $493,669 USD, CARTIER ranked as the third best-performing brand of the auction, generating total sales of $3,128,513 USD.
Together, these three brands generated total sales of $10,845,336 USD, representing 56% of the total auction sales.
AVERAGE PRICE PER LOT
Based on a total of 141 lots, with no unsold lots, the average price per lot was $136,482 USD.
CONCLUSION
This auction once again demonstrated the strength of the auction market. The top three best-performing brands were ROLEX, PATEK PHILIPPE, and CARTIER.
