Journe Chronomètre à Résonance ‘Régence’ sold for CHF 8.68 million (approximately US$10.59 million) at Phillips’ Geneva sale this month. The two-day auction at Hotel President brought in CHF 92 million across 217 lots, with every watch finding a buyer. The auction house says this is the first live watch auction to surpass US$100 million.
The F.P. It was not the only watch to fetch a price that watch collectors rarely see on a price tag.
Alexandre Ghotbi, Deputy Chairman and Head of Watches, Europe and Middle East, and Tiffany To, Senior International Watch Specialist and Head of Sale, said the first-ever $100 million watch auction was ‘an extraordinary milestone’. Phillips, working with Bacs & Russo, held The Geneva Watch Auction: XXIV at Hotel President on 7 and 8 November. Its 13 watches fetched a total of CHF 31.8 million, with buyers competing for the early pieces and rare editions.
‘It is a testament to the impeccable quality of the watches, the remarkable diversity of the collection and, above all, the trust placed in us by our consignors and buyers,’ Ghotbi said in a release. The auction house said the Régence attracted fierce competition in the room, over the phone and online. F.P. Journe was the sale’s standout brand. Many buyers had their hearts set on it.