Geneva Auction Week Report — Highlights From Antiquorum’s Geneva Auction, Phillips’ Watches: Decade One (2015–2025), And The Celebration Of Breguet’s 250th Anniversary Auction At Sotheby’s
The Watches and Wonders fair and Geneva Watch Days always cause quite a stir in the usually calm and quiet city of Geneva. Auction week has another effect on the town. The thrill of the hunt for watches on auction brings a buzz that’s very different from the thrill of hunting for novelties. Stating that greed is in the air is taking it too far, but “green” is definitely around. Well, when Phillips hammers off a steel Patek Philippe Perpetual Calendar Chronograph Ref. 1518 at CHF 12 million, that proves the vibes you pick up when spending time around Geneva’s lakeside five-star hotels. However, it was not all about big money, per se. At the Antiquorum auction, someone bought a “Paul Newman” for just CHF 3,000. The Celebration of Breguet’s 250th Anniversary Auction also had a distinct character. This is Fratello’s Geneva Auction Week Report.
Antiquorum’s auction catalog sure makes a watch fan greedy; there’s no denying that. The good thing about the Geneva Auction: Important Modern & Vintage Timepieces, which took place on November 8th and 9th, is that there were watches, pocket watches, clocks, and marine chronometers for almost every budget. An IWC Portugieser ref. 3714 — a steel, 41mm automatic chronograph — sold for CHF 2,900, for instance. Although that doesn’t include the 25% buyer’s premium on the hammer price, it is still a comprehensible price. There were also two “Paul Newmans” on sale — one affordable, the other not so much.
Lip “Paul Newman” — Image: Antiquorum
Geneva auction week report — Antiquorum Geneva Auction: Important Modern and Vintage watches
The first “Paul Newman” that came up for sale was lot 69. This Lip “Paul Newman” is from the 1960s, and it’s a 38mm steel chronograph outfitted with the hand-wound 17-jewel caliber 7733 and a five-row steel bracelet. It sold for CHF 3,000.
Rolex Daytona ref. 6241 “Paul Newman” — Image: Antiquorum
Much later, lot 233 came up. This “Paul Newman” was not a French Lip but, instead, a Swiss Rolex Daytona ref. 6241 from 1969 on a steel rivet bracelet (7205/60) from one year earlier. Different watch, different price. The gavel fell at CHF 150,000, meaning the buyer pays Antiquorum CHF 187,500 — please keep this figure in mind for later.
Glycine “Jump Hour” — Image: Antiquorum
Providence comes in all shapes and sizes. Proof is the Glycine “Jump Hour” from the 1930s in an 18K yellow gold case by G & C Ducommun. Now, what helped push the price way past its estimated range of CHF 2,000–4,000? Was it the fact that Cartier is hot at the moment, and the brand’s Tank à Guichets watches are even hotter? Or is it providence?
This particular Glycine watch once graced the wrist of Aristide Briand (1862–1932), a French politician who served as Prime Minister for 11 terms. Monsieur Briand played a significant role in international relations after World War I. In 1926, alongside Gustave Stresemann, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of his work as Minister of Foreign Affairs, particularly for his role in reconciling French and German relations following the 1925 Locarno Treaty. The watch was sold for CHF 14,000. Is it going to someone with historical awareness and a love for world peace or someone who saw it as a perfect Cartier alternative?
Rolex Daytona ref. 6241 “Paul Newman” — Image: Phillips
Geneva auction week report — Phillips Watches: Decade One (2015–2025)
“Affordable” is not a word that describes hardly anything in the Phillips Watches: Decade One (2015–2025) catalog. When I arrived, session one was in full swing. Lot 86, a 1967 Rolex Daytona ref. 6241, was hammered off. This “Paul Newman” sold for CHF 254,000, including the 27% buyer’s premium. What made this “Paul Newman” CHF 66,500 more expensive than the one at Antiquorum? I guess “the answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind.” And as I have been told by sailing enthusiasts, the winds on Lac Léman can be strong and tricky.
The steel Patek Philippe ref. 1518
However, the title “Watch of the Day” went to the steel Patek Philippe Perpetual Calendar Chronograph ref. 1518 from 1943, of which only four examples are known. There was a bit of fuzz around lot 23 before it hit the auction block. There were questions about the watch’s dial condition, but that didn’t stop the watch from racing past its estimate of CHF 8 million, only to stop at CHF 12 million — that’s CHF 14.19 million at the cash register.
This exact watch, with case number 508473 and a small “1” inside the case back, was previously sold by the same auction house in 2016 for CHF 11,002,000. It is regarded as the first of the four steel 1518s. The word was that this watch, nicknamed “The Endgame,” could reach CHF 20 million, but it was not to be. The previous owner made a cool CHF 1 million in profit after enjoying the watch for nine years.
Three 1518s in different materials — Image: Phillips
More 1518s around
There were more Patek ref. 1518s to buy — much more “affordable” ones. Lot 144 was a pink-on-pink 1518 that reached CHF 3,569,000. This pink-gold-cased version, with a matching pink dial, is also rare, but it’s not as rare as the steel version and the yellow gold iteration, of which there was also one up for auction. Patek Philippe produced approximately 281 examples of the ref. 1518 QP chronograph. Most of them were in yellow gold, with fewer examples in pink gold, and even fewer were fitted with pink dials. The estimate for the pink-on-pink lot 140 was up to CHF 2,400,000, and it ultimately surpassed that amount. If you compare the prices of the one-of-four steel watch and the one-of-15 pink gold version, the conclusion is that rarity follows a steep price curve.
Patek Philippe ref. 1518 in yellow gold — Image: Phillips
The yellow gold ref. 1518 could be considered a steal. Lot 40 exceeded its estimated high of CHF 400,000 and sold for CHF 635,000, making it the budget version of the “1518 Tryptique.”
Breguet No. 3102 made between 1934 and 1947 — Image: Sotheby’s
Geneva auction week report — A Celebration of Breguet’s 250th Anniversary at Sotheby’s
Breguet is celebrating its 250th anniversary this year and not just with thematic novelties. There was also a special auction being held as a way of putting the brand in the spotlight. This is a spotlight that it needs and deserves because few watchmakers can claim a history as rich and influential as Breguet. Founded in 1775 by the legendary Abraham-Louis Breguet, the brand stands as one of the oldest surviving names in horology. The company remained in the hands of Breguet’s descendants until 1870, when Edward Brown, a business partner at the time, acquired it. The Brown family would oversee the brand for more than a century.
Eventually, the Browns sold Breguet to the Parisian Chaumet brothers, renowned jewelers who relocated the brand to Le Brassus in Switzerland’s Vallée de Joux. Under their ownership, master watchmaker Daniel Roth went to work, realizing a creative revival with historical ties. Iconic design elements, such as guilloché dials, Breguet-style hands, and the tourbillon, reappeared in new wristwatch models.
Unfortunately, this renaissance came to an abrupt halt in 1987 when financial difficulties forced the Chaumet brothers to sell the company. The following decade proved to be a challenging one for Breguet, as declining quality and competition from elite manufacturers like Patek Philippe eroded its reputation. In 1999, however, a new chapter began when Nicolas G. Hayek, founder of the Swatch Group, acquired the brand.
Breguet No. 3132 / 2861 ref. 3631 — Image: Sotheby’s
Taking Breguet’s temperature
Today, new CEO Gregory Kissling is injecting fresh energy into Breguet, positioning the brand as an enduring symbol of innovation, craftsmanship, and timeless elegance. The auction at the Royal Mandarin hotel under Sotheby’s flag serves as both a celebration and a thermometer. It measures the “temperature” of the attending bidders in terms of money and thus relevance. Seventy lots came up for auction, and Emmanuel Breguet, the head of patrimony and a seventh-generation descendant of Abraham-Louis Breguet, carefully curated them.
As you would expect, there were a plethora of pocket watches, but the auction also showcased a few marine chronometers, clocks, wristwatches, like the Type XX, as well as several gem-set special-order pieces. Lot 10, the Breguet No. 3132 / 2861 ref. 3631, a special-order minute repeater in ruby- and diamond-set 18K yellow gold from around 1999, cost a bidder CHF 508,000.
With Breguet fan and buyer François-Paul Journe and collector Auro Montanari, alias John Goldberger, in the room, the pocket watches were off to a flying start, with lots 5 and 6, two tourbillon pocket watches from the 1930s, selling far above their highest estimates for CHF 190,500 and CHF 203,200, including buyer’s premium, respectively. Lot 9, the Breguet No. 1890, a four-minute tourbillon delivered to Monsieur Frédéric Frackman on May 16th, 1809, and then sold to Comte Alexis Razoumoffsky for 3,240 francs, reached CHF 1,880,000, and that was more than CHF 1 million above the watch’s highest estimate.
Breguet Type XX No. 499 — Image: Sotheby’s
How about Breguet’s “Paul Newman?”
You could consider the Type XX Breguet’s “Paul Newman.” After all, this military chronograph is the brand’s most important sports watch. Of the four on offer, lot 16, the Type XX No. 499 from 1954, was one of only two stainless steel examples known to exist with a yellow gold bezel, sold for CHF 177,800, more than twice its highest estimate. Still, for a watch of which only two seem to exist, the price is not “Paul Newman” money. One other Type XX didn’t sell, and the other two did okay.
Lot 44 was very interesting because the Breguet No. 3185, a large 18K gold open-faced Souscription watch, sold to Monsieur le Duc de Frias on April 10th, 1818, for 978 francs, is the “daddy” of the modern Souscription 2025 watch that started the Breguet’s celebratory year. The pocket watch sold for CHF 50,800, easily exceeding its estimate. Lot 46, the Souscription 2025, bears the number 250, but it’s the first of the 250 watches produced in the run, which have a retail price of CHF 45,000. It sold for CHF 88,250. I would have guessed it would be the other way around, but it’s possible that rarity prevailed due to the original Souscription, which first appeared in the archives in 1796; 700 watches were produced. It also shows the new model is a hit.
Not the one from the auction but another Souscription 2025 that we had at HQ for a shoot
Beaten by a clock
Somewhat surprisingly, it was a clock that reached the highest price. Lot 59, the weight-driven, skeletonized, three-wheeled pendulum No. 3225 timepiece displaying the equation of time, Gregorian & French Revolutionary annual calendars, and days of the week, made by Breguet et Fils and George Daniels in 1968, reached CHF 1.9 million.
Breguet No. 3225 made by Breguet et Fils and George Daniels in 1968 — Image: Sotheby’s
Regarding the Breguet’s “temperature” or relevance, the auction was a success. However, I would like to remark that the historically interesting selection performed very well. Still, modern and vintage Breguet wristwatches, not just the Type XXs, need to step up their game, as they must take over from historical pocket watches and clocks to further re-energize the sleeping giant that is Breguet. The hunt is on for more young vintage Breguet wristwatches from the ’80s and ’90s.
