The rare 1949 Oyster Perpetual model with a cloisonné enamel dial was sold for $1.2 million at Christie’s auction house in Geneva making it the most expensive Rolex watch ever to be sold. Designed by artist Marguerite Koch, the 18-karat gold automatic watch with sweep center seconds depicts a whale and a ship sailing on rough seas. It was expected to sell between $570,000 and $1.13 million. However, an anonymous bidder pushed the final price to $1,220,632.
Christie’s auctioned 435 timepieces in Geneva, including a Patek Philippe Sky Moon Tourbillon that was auctioned off at the low end of its estimate at $1,340,804. The platinum cushion-shaped minute repeating wristwatch was made in 1927 for an avid collector Henry Graves Jr. It is Patek Philippe’s most complicated wristwatch, featuring a sky chart and moon phases and orbit.
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| A 1949 Oyster Perpetual |
The auction house also sold a
series of Rolex watches, including a customized watch for the Sultan of Oman,
Qaboos bin Said al-Said. Total bids at the watch sale reached $26.5 million.
According to luxury real estate
consultancy Knight Frank, the market for collectible watches grew about 4
percent over the past year, and 32 percent over the past five years. If the
Christie’s auction is any indication, the collectible watches remain strong
this year despite volatile stock markets and the global economic uncertainty.
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