The auction “Important Watches featuring Exceptional Discoveries: The Olmsted Complications Collection” organized by Sothebys in New York on December 8, 2025, presented an exclusive selection of 188 pieces from the best watch brands chosen for their condition, their rarity and quality. Total sales, fees included: $42,798,905 USD, or 100% of the lots presented.
BEST RESULTS
Lot 39: Audemars Piguet – Grosse Pièce’ No.16869 | An extraordinary, historically important yellow gold double dialed and double open-faced, minute repeating astronomical watch with one minute tourbillon, a celestial chart for the night time sky of London, day/night grande and petite sonnerie, chronograph, register for 60-minutes and 12-hours, perpetual calendar, moon-phases, equation of time, power reserve, and 24 hour sidereal time, Made for S. Smith & Son, Ltd., Started in 1914, Shown at the Geneva Watch Exhibition in 1920 and Delivered in 1921 Sold for 7,736,000 USD
Lot 33: Patek Philippe – An Extraordinary Discovery: Patek Philippe’s John Motley Morehead Double Movement Minute Repeating Split Seconds chronograph with register, two sets of hour and minute hands, and a pair of constant seconds dials, The only known Patek Philippe with 6 hands rotating from the center, Mvt. 197890, Case 410655 Sold for $3,710,000 USD
Lot 32: Patek Philippe – A historically important and previously unknown Ten-Day silver and gold two-train ‘Presse- Papier’ desk timepiece with perpetual calendar, moon phases, and 10-day up-down indication with wood base, Mvt. 198159, Case 292119, Made for Thomas Emery Sold for $2,734,000 USD
BEST PERFORMANCES
Lot 39: Audemars Piguet Circa 1914 – Grosse Pièce’ No.16869 | An extraordinary, historically important yellow gold double dialed and double open-faced, minute repeating astronomical watch with one minute tourbillon, a celestial chart for the night time sky of London, day/night grande and petite sonnerie, chronograph, register for 60-minutes and 12- hours, perpetual calendar, moon-phases, equation of time, power reserve, and 24 hour sidereal time. 1447% change between the base estimate and the final result ($7,736,000 USD)
Lot 45: Charles Frodsham, London Vers 1905 – A yellow gold open-faced keyless lever six-minute tourbillon watch with Kew A ‘Especially Good’ rating, No. 08978 1351% change between the base estimate and the final result (101 600$ USD)
Lot 27: Thomas Earnshaw, Invt. et Fecit Vers 1800 – A one-day box marine chronometer, No. 545/2982 989% change between the base estimate and the final result (76 200$ USD)
BREAKDOWN BY BRAND
Patek Philippe
Occupying the first place in the ranking of best prices, Patek Philippe achieved the best sales figure of 14,301,020 USD.
Audemars Piguet
Occupying the second place in the ranking of the best prices of the sale, Audemars Piguet realized the figure of 8 306 230$ USD
F.P. Journe
With a watch that reached the price of $1,636,000 USD, F. P. Journe is the third best performing brand in this sale with a result of $5,357,100 USD.
These three brands represent a total product of 27,964,350 USD, or 65% of the total sales.
AVERAGE PRICE PER LOT
Given the number of batches, 188 in total, including 0 unsold lots, the average price of a batch was $227,654 USD.
CONCLUSION
This sale once again demonstrated the dynamism of the auction market, we can note the presence in the top three brands: Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet and F.P. Journe.
