Editor’s Note
The recent Geneva watch auctions presented a fragmented market landscape, with major houses posting vastly different results. This analysis unpacks the complex picture of the spring season.
The spring watch auctions have turned Geneva into a cubist picture. All the faces of the second-hand watch market were represented simultaneously. The most important sessions took place last weekend, and the participants – Phillips, Christie’s, Sotheby’s, and Antiquorum – emerged in a very scattered order. Turnover ranged from over 40 million Swiss francs for 192 lots at Phillips, to 10 million francs for 790 lots at Antiquorum. And it wasn’t just the watches on offer that made the difference.
The golden palm once again goes to Phillips and its star auctioneer Aurel Bacs. He achieved the feat of reaching 43.4 million Swiss francs, far exceeding estimates. The average price is 226,000 francs. The ten highest bids totaled 18.6 million francs. This performance contrasts with the rather gloomy business climate in the watchmaking sector at the moment. It highlights all the expertise of Aurel Bacs, who has managed to turn watch auctions into a real spectacle.
The two most expensive pieces highlight a major trend: the return of the table clock. Second place went to the 1924 Cartier Portico Mystery Clock, “of historical importance,” which sold for 3.9 million francs.
With 5.5 million francs, the top price went to another table clock, the “Sympathique Numéro 1” made for Breguet in 1991. Again, a historical witness: the invention is by Abraham-Louis Breguet in the 18th century, and its modern version was made by independent watchmaker François-Paul Journe. It was, in fact, he who acquired it, to enrich his personal collection which he plans to turn into a museum in Geneva. François-Paul Journe was also very present in the sale, with 11 pieces, which brought in 3.4 million francs for Phillips.
The two table clocks are followed by a perpetual calendar that sold for 2.7 million francs, signed Patek Philippe. The Geneva-based manufacturer, which served as a springboard for watch auctions from the 1990s, thus retains its position as a pillar: Phillips sold 34 lots totaling 9.1 million. Rolex, for its part, brought in 7.5 million with 46 lots.
Now let’s move on to particular moments. First, the debut pieces. A watch by Simon Brette, a young creator based in Geneva, from 2024, was sold for 203,000 francs, more than twice its price when it left the workshop. Even fresher, a 2025 Charles Frodsham sold for 196,000 francs, 60,000 more than its original price.
Second highlight: a sale to fund the Philippe and Elisabeth Dufour Foundation. Eleven unique pieces were auctioned, for a final result of 1.1 million francs. Among the lots, a piece by watchmaker Philippe Dufour himself, which sold for 647,000 francs, very far from his personal record of 7.6 million achieved in 2021.
Third highlight with a brand-new Universal Genève Polerouter. It symbolizes the revival of this former brand taken over by Georges Kern, head of Breitling, in 2023. A key moment for repositioning: Universal is intended to cover the high-end segment, above Breitling. The result is up to par, it found a buyer at 71,000 francs. And this is where Aurel Bacs demonstrates his mastery of the hammer. Because at the same time, the Antiquorum house, also betting on the return of Universal Genève, presented 18 vintage watches. Among the lots was a Polerouter from the 1960s, very similar in its craftsmanship to the 2025 one, which sold for… 1,500 francs.