Editor’s Note
The latest Hammertrack study reveals a clear shift in auction market dynamics. While watch sales have declined, jewelry has surged ahead, doubling the total sales value of timepieces in 2023. This pivot underscores evolving collector priorities and market trends.
The figures leave no doubt. Watches are no longer the star under the auctioneer’s hammer, while jewelry continues to widen the gap. Watch auction sales show a 13% decline compared to 2022 (-10% at constant exchange rates) to 610 million Swiss francs. Over the same period, jewelry sales recorded a 20% increase, reaching 1.2 billion Swiss francs. This is what emerges from the Hammertrack 2023 study, published this Monday by Thierry Huron, head of The Mercury Project, based in Le Landeron (Neuchâtel).
The study compiles data from the six main auction houses active in these specialties: Christie’s, Phillips Bacs & Russo, Sotheby’s, Antiquorum, Bonhams, and Polyauction (in order of importance). The result confirms the normalization at a high level of public sales for collectible watches. The peak was reached in 2022, with a total of 701.6 million Swiss francs. The 2023 period even falls below the 2021 level, which was set at 634 million Swiss francs. However, this underperformance must be put into perspective. It comes after several years of extraordinary growth. In 2019 (the pre-COVID reference point), watch auctions stood at 390 million Swiss francs.