Christie’s auction titled ‘Rare Watches: Featuring The Kairos Collection’ showcased a selection of rare Rolexes, three Daytonas and contemporary Patek Philippe’s closed with a total of CHF 23,840,700. The auction took place at the Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues in Geneva and was a hotspot for Rolex watches. 

The auction set 16 new world-records and also marked the entry of the millennials into the watch auction market. How was this achieved? With 51 percent of the new registrants belonging to the millennials, the ‘Rare Watches: Featuring The Kairos Collection’ consumer base points to the ever-growing interest of a fresh generation of watch lovers who are now ready to enter the watch market. The auction also saw a strong global participation of registrants from 46 countries across six continents. 

About the Rare Watches: Featuring The Kairos Collection Auction:

The finely curated Rare Watches auction offered a selection of the most coveted timepieces by Rolex, Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet and more. The list also featured some of the finest and rarest examples of the iconic Daytona chronograph with Paul Newman dials etc. Apart from the usuals, the Geneva sale also housed icons from various other brands like the iconic Cartier Crash London. 

Sale Highlights:

• The Rolex Daytona Ref 6269 ‘Jack of Diamonds” was estimated at CHF CHF 1,100,000 but sold for CHF 1.614 million.

• The Paul Newman Tropical Lemon Daytona Ref. 6264 was estimated at CHF 900,000 but sold for an astonishing CHF 1.254 million.

• The Rolex Daytona ref. 6241 ‘Champagne Paul Newman dial’ the property of an important private collector was estimated at CHF 700,000 but sold for CHF 1,071,000. 

• The Rolex Oyster perpetual ‘turquoise blue’ dial 41mm was estimated at CHF 6,000 but sold for CHF 69,300.

• The Rolex Daytona with green chrysoprase dial was estimated at CHF 50,000 but sold at CHF 201,600. 

“Rolex continues to reach new heights of desirability! And probably also thanks to a pool of new and young bidders and buyers from around the world. 51% of new bidders were millennials, showing that the market continues to open up to bidders who have never before stepped into an auction room to buy watches. 16 world records were broken, with Daytonas remaining the ‘Queens’ of the game. A particular note was the success of the Rolex Daytona Trilogy, putting Geneva at the center of all things Rolex. Cartier also showed a very strong desirability, with iconic models like the Crash reaching 819’000 CHF. The Christie’s watch team in Geneva continues to raise the bar with a sale that is 100% sold and is very proud to contribute to an exceptional new year that has only just begun!” said Rémi Guillemin, Head of Watches, Christie’s Geneva. 

Other Highlight:

• The Patek Philippe “Cathedral” minute repeating perpetual calendar ref. 5074r-001 retailed by Tiffany & co. and roperty from the Kairos Collection was estimated at CHF 330,000 but sold at CHF 957,600.

• The Cartier London ‘Crash’ 1990 was estimated at CHF 180,000 but sold at CHF 819,000 

For more information, visit the Christie’s website here. 

Image Courtesy: Christie’s