Editor’s Note
This article highlights Phillips, a leading global auction house specializing in modern and contemporary works. The featured watches were offered through its international sales, accessible to bidders worldwide, including Japan.
Phillips is a global platform for 20th and 21st century works, offering expertise in modern and contemporary art, design, photography, editions, watches, and jewelry. Its auctions and exhibitions are primarily held in New York, London, Geneva, and Hong Kong.
The three watches introduced here were all offered at Phillips auctions. It is possible to bid in these Phillips auctions from Japan. Those interested in watches, rare jewelry, or modern and contemporary art should consider checking out the official website.
At Phillips auctions, not only mass-produced models but also prototypes (so-called trial pieces) are sometimes offered. The item offered at a New York auction was the “FFC (Francis Ford Coppola) Prototype,” a collaborative model created by film director Francis Ford Coppola and F.P. Journe.
The meeting between Coppola and F.P. Journe began when Coppola’s wife Eleanor gave him a platinum Chronomètre à Résonance as a Christmas gift in 2009.
Captivated by this watch, Coppola invited François-Paul Journe (F.P. Journe) to his winery in 2012 and asked him, “Has a human hand ever been used, or can it be used to tell time?” This became the catalyst for the birth of the “FFC.”
Journe and Coppola tackled the challenge of how to display numbers 1 through 12 using just one human hand. Showing numbers 1 to 5 with one hand is easy. However, how to indicate 6 through 12 was a difficult problem.
Ultimately, they succeeded in representing time by using the index finger as 1, gradually adding the middle and ring fingers to show up to 5, then using the thumb alone for 6, thumb and index finger for 7, thumb, index, and middle finger for 8, and so on, with all fingers retracted for 10, the little finger alone for 11, and the little finger and thumb for 12.
Film director Coppola met F.P. Journe through his wife Eleanor’s Christmas gift and created the innovative watch “FFC.” While the sold “FFC” models are precious, this prototype is an even rarer piece.
At the Phillips auction held in New York in 2025, this “FFC” prototype was sold for approximately 1.679 billion yen (10,755,000 USD, converted at 1 USD = 156.12 yen).
Patek Philippe’s Ref.1518, considered one of the pinnacle brands, was the world’s first mass-produced model to feature a perpetual calendar chronograph.
Most of the approximately 284 Ref.1518 pieces produced were made of yellow gold or pink gold. Therefore, stainless steel Ref.1518 watches are extremely rare, with only four pieces publicly confirmed.
One of these was offered at a Phillips auction held in Geneva in 2025.
Due to its extreme rarity, the hammer price was approximately 2.7059 billion yen (14.19 million Swiss Francs, converted at 1 CHF = 190.69 yen). In terms of Japanese yen, this amount surpasses the hammer price of the Rolex Daytona “Paul Newman” offered in 2017 (approximately 2 billion yen).
While considering metal value alone, yellow or pink gold tends to be more expensive, the stainless steel model of the Patek Philippe Ref.1518 commanded a price exceeding gold models due to the confirmed low number of pieces.
Patek Philippe’s perpetual calendar chronograph Ref.3970 was produced for 18 years from 1986 to 2004. While the Ref.3970 has a solid caseback, the Ref.3971 introduced here features a sapphire crystal caseback.
The Ref.3970/3971 series is classified into the 1st Series (1986–1988), 2nd Series (1987–1990), 3rd Series (1989–1995), and 4th Series (1994–2004).
The Ref.3971 offered at the Phillips auction in Hong Kong in 2025 is a 2nd Series model, with only about 50 pieces reportedly produced.
Furthermore, Ref.3971 watches with a “Dore” (French for “gold”) dial are extremely rare. The model offered this time is one of only two pieces proven to have the original dial.
The hammer price for this rare model with a proven original gold dial—scarce even among the fewer Ref.3971 pieces circulating compared to Ref.3970—was approximately 209.3 million yen (10.13 million Hong Kong Dollars, converted at 1 HKD = 20.66 yen).
The Ref.3970/3971 introduced last is a model that Japanese collectors are also likely to own.
At Phillips auctions, collectors from around the world bid, so rare models in good condition have the potential to sell for high prices.
If, due to unavoidable circumstances (though one would rather not think about it), you must part with a watch, consider consigning it to a Phillips auction.
Phillips will hold an expert watch appraisal tour in Japan from February 16 to 22, 2026. Details and inquiries are accepted by phone or email.
Contact / Appraisal Reservation
Tel: 03-6273-4818
Mail: [email protected]
*By appointment only
2026 Auction Schedule
・May 9–10, 2026: Geneva Watch Auction
・May 30–31, 2026: Hong Kong Watch Auction
・June 13–14, 2026: New York Watch Auction
Text by Yūta Saitō (ENGINE Editorial Department)