Over the weekend, Phillips brought in $35.9 million as its annual New York sale sold 100% by lot and value and set a new record for the highest-value watch auction in US history.
According to the New York auction house, the $35.9 million figure brings the annual total for Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo — the full name of the auction house’s watch department —to a highly-impressive $209.3 million. This represents an 89% increase over 2019 and sets a new single-year record for an auction house in the US.
The headline sale of the auction was the first Tiffany & Co blue Patek Philippe Nautilus Ref. 5711. The timepiece, which is one of just 170, sold on Saturday for $6.5 million. This is a figure over 130 times its pre-sale estimate of $50,000 and 124 times its $52,635 retail price.
Meanwhile, a George Daniels yellow-gold one-minute tourbillon pocket watch went for $1.66 million and a 1969 Rolex Ref. 6241 yellow gold chronograph with a Paul Newman “John Player Special” dial sold for $1.24 million. Impressively, Ralph Ellison’s Omega Speedmaster sold for $667,800, more than 33 times its $20,000 estimate.
