A collection of watches from one owner is at the heart of a major luxury timepiece sale in Hong Kong this month.
The Collectibles Part 1, hosted by Christies, should realise millions in Hong Kong dollars, with the top item carrying a top estimate of just short of £1 million.
That’s a white gold Rolex Cosmograph Daytona, reference 116589. Christie’s describe it as “the epitome of the high-luxury sports watch.”
The Daytona is the world’s most valuable wrist watch at auction. An example sold for nearly $18 million in 2021. That one was owned by Paul Newman and has been described as “the greatest watch on the planet”.
All iterations of the reference are highly collectible.
Last week the first ever “rainbow” Daytona was listed with a predicted $3.5 million auction price. That example is distinguished by its multicoloured gem-encrusted bezel.
Also tagged “collectibles” are several Rolex Day-Date models, including rare hardstone-dial models with tiger’s eye, onyx, and aventurine faces. These are expected to realise as much as £50,000.
An example of an F.P Journey elegante, much coveted despite its battery power.
An F.P Journe Elegante is also on offer carrying an estimate of around £10,000 to £20,000 (HK$100,000 to HK$200,000).
The Elegante is probably the world’s most expensive quartz-powered watch. Watch collectors traditionally prefer mechanical motions rather than the battery driven quartz watches that largely replaced them in popular usage.
The Elegante though comes from one of the watch world’s current favourites, and will cost you thousands of pounds straight out of the box.
The full sale should attract buyers to Christie’s new Hong Kong headquarters, with a great survey of the collectible watch market, including Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, Lange & Söhne, Piaget, F.P. Journe, Vacheron Constantin, Omega and Roger Dubuis watches.
A huge boom in watch sales during the covid pandemic has been followed by something of a market correction that experts believe may now be ticking back up. This sale, a pioneering one for East Asia, will be an interesting test of market sentiment.
The sale takes place in Hong Kong on September 11.
