Editor’s Note
The once-booming luxury watch market shows signs of cooling, with even top auction houses like Phillips seeing fewer “white glove” sales. This shift reflects broader trends in high-end consumer demand.
The cooling trend in the watch market has also spread to the auction market.
In the first half of 2024, only Phillips’ New York watch auction maintained a “white glove” record, while its Hong Kong and Geneva auctions failed to continue the previous streak of achieving “white glove” results across the board. Phillips has consistently been a leader in the global watch auction market.
This trend aligns with the overall cooling of the high-end watch industry in Mainland China and Hong Kong since 2024. According to data from the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry, total Swiss watch exports in the first half of 2024 fell by 3.3% year-on-year. Notably, exports to Mainland China and Hong Kong, which together account for the largest share of Swiss watch exports globally, declined by 21.6% and 19.9% respectively.
The years 2021 and 2022 were the best for watch auctions in recent five years. Phillips achieved consecutive annual “white glove” records during these two years, largely thanks to the performance of the Asian market. However, as buyers returned to rationality in 2023, Phillips only managed to maintain full-year “white glove” records in Hong Kong and New York last year.
In contrast, the jewelry auction market has maintained a prosperous scene.
In the first half of 2024, Phillips’ jewelry business achieved a total auction turnover that increased significantly by 191% compared to the same period in 2023. During Phillips’ Geneva spring auction, a 6.21-carat Fancy Vivid Pink diamond ring sold for over 10.86 million Swiss francs (approximately 91.2789 million RMB), setting the record for the highest price achieved in all auctions held in Geneva that season.
Also in Geneva, Switzerland, Sotheby’s “Magnificent Jewels” auction in May achieved a sell-through rate of 97%. A 202-carat yellow diamond was sold for 6 million Swiss francs (approximately 50.4303 million RMB).
Back in the Asian market, jewelry auctions also performed remarkably well. In the first half of 2024, the Hong Kong jewelry auction market demonstrated strong resilience, with multiple high-quality jewelry lots selling at robust prices. This highlights that in the current market environment, fine jewelry is still regarded as having investment value.
During Sotheby’s Hong Kong spring auction in 2024, a Cartier “India Tutti Frutti” gemstone necklace was sold for 68 million HKD. The pre-sale estimate for this Cartier antique piece was 28 to 38 million HKD, meaning the final hammer price more than doubled. This necklace is a historically significant Cartier piece heavily influenced by Indian culture, set with various rare gemstones and high-quality diamonds.
At Phillips Hong Kong’s spring auction, the most eye-catching lot was a 15.51-carat round brilliant cut yellow diamond ring, which sold for 8.9 million HKD.
Another Van Cleef & Arpels turquoise and diamond necklace from around 1985 sold for 4.57 million HKD, making it the second-highest priced jewelry lot for Phillips Hong Kong that season. Notably, the pre-sale estimate for this necklace was only 900,000 to 1.2 million HKD, indicating that Asian collectors’ desire for top-tier jewelry is far stronger than market expectations.
It is worth noting that the overall diamond and gold jewelry consumption market in Greater China has been sluggish so far in 2024. However, it is clear that in both the primary and secondary markets for high jewelry, top-tier buyers remain highly interested. Of course, not all buyers of these jewelry lots are private collectors; approximately half are jewelry market professionals or institutions.
Benoit Repellin, Global Head of Jewelry at Phillips auction house, stated in an interview with the professional jewelry media Solitaire in May 2024 that among the collectors purchasing jewelry at auction over the past year, private collectors and professional jewelers each accounted for half. The aforementioned pink diamond ring was purchased by a private collector. Meanwhile, a Fancy Reddish Pink diamond named “Argyle Phoenix,” which sold for 3.8 million Swiss francs (approximately 31.9392 million RMB), was acquired by the founder of Graff Diamonds, at twice its pre-sale estimate.
The performance in the first half of the year also reveals current preferences in jewelry auctions. In antique jewelry, brands like Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels, which have deep roots in high jewelry and whose brand value is further solidified in the current market, consistently see their vintage pieces sought after by private collectors at auction.
At the same time, high-quality rare colored diamonds like pink and yellow diamonds remain in high demand. Even though prices for smaller-carat natural diamonds remain low, white diamond ring pieces with excellent cut, high grades, and large carats can still command good prices. In terms of rare gemstones, high-quality sapphire, jadeite, and emerald pieces also receive special favor from collectors.
The jewelry auction market is expected to see more high-quality collections and lots in the second half of 2024, and its performance remains worthy of close attention. In fact, auction houses sensed the prospect of a booming jewelry auction market earlier and made preparations in advance.
In 2023, Phillips further expanded its jewelry department, holding its first dedicated jewelry auction in Geneva, achieving a turnover of 20.3 million Swiss francs (approximately 170.6 million RMB). Previously, Phillips had not held dedicated jewelry auctions in Geneva, Hong Kong, and New York. Immediately after this expansion, Phillips Geneva contributed 51.3% of Phillips’ global jewelry auction revenue.
