Editor’s Note
This report from Geneva’s major watch auctions captures a pivotal moment for the market. Amidst significant tariff uncertainty, the spring season’s results are being closely scrutinized as a key indicator of broader trends and collector sentiment.
This was one of the strangest auction seasons I can remember in some time. In Geneva this weekend, the major auction houses—Christie’s, Phillips, Sotheby’s, and Antiquorum—held their big May auctions, one of the most significant events on the calendar for vintage watches. Spring auctions are always a helpful data point in determining the health of the watch market, but with tariff news swinging around like a sledgehammer, auction houses treated these results as a weathervane for the whole global economy.
There was more good news this weekend as a half-dozen watches passed the one-million mark. Even better is that these notable prices came from a large variety of brands, from F.P. Journe, A. Lange & Söhne, and Richard Mille to Cartier and Rolex. Meanwhile, a younger contingent of collectors is starting to make itself heard. Christie’s reported that 28% of bidders were new clients and 37% of its clients were Gen Z or millennials.
These new bidders didn’t necessarily change the makeup of the results, though. Unique, vintage watches still delivered the best results. That’s despite the auction houses trotting out two of the most desirable modern watches in the world. A Rolex Daytona “Le Mans” ($254,856) and one of Simon Brette’s Chronomètre Artisans ($241,749), both released within the last couple of years, were sold for fine but not extraordinary numbers.
But outside of economic headwinds and multi-million dollar results, there are plenty of less talked-about gems. These are my personal favorites and most interesting results from this weekend.
Sold for 175,000 Swiss Francs; $208,085
Rolex hardly ever does custom pieces like this for its retailers anymore, but clearly it’s willing to make exceptions if the idea rocks hard enough. This one-of-one Daytona was produced just a few years ago for Asprey, which is known for this signature shade of purple.
Sold for 57,150 Swiss francs; $67,966
Before Audemars Piguet made precise sculptures of Marvel superheroes or KAWS Companions, Cartier was apparently producing cute little gem-set tigers reposing atop a watch. The jeweler made only 50 of these.
Sold for 95,250 Swiss francs; $113,271
This looks like an amazing ice-themed level of Super Smash Bros. that I need on my wrist.
Sold for 95,250 Swiss francs; $113,231
This Patek 2526 is like a time-traveler. The watch was made in the early ‘50s (sold in 1955), but with its pitch-black dial and slinky gold bracelet, it looks totally modern. I’m infatuated with this bracelet, which is called the lobster because its design mirrors the scalloped shell of the crustacean. The bracelet was made by Ponti Gennari, who was known for making special designs for Patek.
Sold for 1,633,000 Swiss francs; $1,941,819
This watch has a lot of technically impressive complications, including that tourbillon hanging out at 6 o’clock. However, what I really can’t get over is the dial, a unique ruby cut specifically to fit FPJ’s design. Only 20 of these were made, which makes the near-$2-million result totally unsurprising.
Sold for 2,250 Swiss francs; $2,675
The Mark II variant of the Speedmaster brings in a more interesting shape, stretching out the Moonwatch’s round case at the top and bottom. I’m really just a sucker for this cheerfully bright, and very busy, dial with its many shades of orange, from tangerine to magma.
Sold for 378,000 Swiss francs; $449,521
An absolutely ridiculous watch covered with enough rubies to make it worthy of a heist.
Sold for 5,505,000 Swiss francs; $6,546,821
At over $6 million, this was the biggest sale from over the weekend. In 1991, Breguet collaborated with watchmaker Francois-Paul Journe to make a watch inspired by one originally made by Abraham Louis Breguet in the 1700s. The piece resulted in this clock, which also comes with a wrist/pocketwatch that you pop in to have it set and wound overnight. Insane!
However, the day before the auction, F.P. Journe sent out an email that read. What made this even stranger is that F.P. Journe ended up being the one willing to shell out more than $6 million for this clock to put inside the brand’s museum.
Sold for 63,000 Swiss francs; $74,912
Omega finds endless ways to spice up its signature Speedmaster. This piece, made for the 40th anniversary of the moon landing, is an extremely luxurious take on the tool watch. The case is made out of platinum and the sundial at 9 o’clock is made of a small circle of 18-k gold engraved with the design from the Apollo 11 mission patch.
Sold for 1,008,000 Swiss francs; $1,198,759