By Jovan Krstevski
Seems like the folks at the bidding floor at the Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo Geneva Watch Auction: FOUR sale in Geneva, Switzerland had been battling for a very rare Patek Philippe Reference 1518 watch, we are talking a staggering USD 11,112,020 (CHF 11,020,000). Note that the world’s leading watch auction house also holds the world record from the same watchmaker last year with the Patek Philippe Reference 5016 in stainless steel selling for over USD 7.3 million (CHF 7.3 million). There is a reason why the bidders bid that much for the legendary PP Ref. 1518 though, it is simply an extremely rare collectible in very good condition. Besides Phillips auctions only the best thanks to its team that brought in a group of world-class collectors’ wrist and pocket watches of the highest quality in terms of condition, rarity, and ownership. There is no doubt about their expertise plus we horology fans love it, just like a car guy loving all the shiny cars at a prestige car show, we all have something to be fond of.
Anyhow, Patek Philippe Reference 1518 wristwatch is now officially the world’s most expensive wristwatch ever to be sold at auction, a world breaking record from the same auction house. I don’t know how Sam Hines, the international head of watches at Phillips auction house feels about that but certainly, he recalls the excitement of the sale of the said watch that lasted for 13 minutes. Well, folks, for bidding wars this is really long and of course, the bid gets more expensive the longer it lasts. Hines wasn’t surprised though because according to him, “the watch really ticked every box the trophy collectors are looking for. It was fresh to the market, there are only four known examples and it was in perfect condition.” My goodness, that is indeed very rare.
So what does this make for us mortals? Well, we all can agree on one thing, the horology market is not dead in fact it is growing so yeah hold on to your priceless watches if you have a few PP’s. Now going back to the extremely rare stainless steel PP 1518 watch made in 1943; it sports a perpetual calendar chronograph with moon phase and a gorgeous bracelet that defines sheer classic. It is arguably a very elegant watch featuring Arabic hour markers and a tachymeter scale. Its excellent condition is also its selling point plus the bidders seemed to have really wanted it a lot shooting the price threefold from the initial estimated price. Well no doubt about it since PP is a very important manufacture that only makes the best watches anyways, but the price seems too overshoot, but hey they are the ones bidding. We do not know who the buyer is since he/she wanted to be anonymous. For that price, I do not question why.
Hold on to your horses because Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo will present “Rolex Milestones: 38 Legendary Watches That Shaped History”, in Hong Kong this coming 28 November 2016. I do not know about you but I’m excited about it and maybe Phillips will make another record breaking sale. Good times!
The detailed results of the auction can be found here
