The Patek Philippe Calibre 89 in yellow gold hasn't failed to live up to its expectations. The watch was sold in Geneva at the weekend for CHF 5.12m (Swiss francs - each currently equal to US$0.99).
The spectacular pocket watch, with 24 hands and 33 complications including phases of the moon, sunset times, split second timing and even a thermometer was the headline piece at Antiquorum's anniversary auction. But there were several spectacular pieces on show.
Six other lots sold for over $200,000, of which five were by Patek Philippe:
An extremely rare and fine water-resistant, 18K rose gold wristwatch, including rose gold hands marking the time with Arabic numerals 1953 water-resistant Patek Philippe sold for CHF 210,000.
 Tropics Cloisonne Patek Philippe (Click to enlarge) |
One of three Tropics Cloisonne Patek Philippe watches made in 1954 sold for CHF 234,000 - easily bettering its estimate of CHF 150,000-200,000. The cloisonné enamel dial with Roman numerals is surrounded by 18K rose gold and depicts and extraordinary tropical scene.
A Patek Philippe created to be sold by Tiffany in 1969 is a yellow gold piece (including hands, indices and buckle) with split-second timer and tachometer sold for CHF 216,000.
Another yellow gold Patek Philippe from 1956, this one with perpetual calendar and the phases of the moon sold for CHF 240,000. It is resistant to heat, cold and shock, though at that price it's unlikely to be the sort of watch the buyer will be careless with.
The most modern piece was a 2005 white gold Celestial Patek Philippe with self-winding mechanism, moon phases and moon orbits, which was taken home for CHF 228,000. The sky chart is depicted with gold on blue.
Finally, the remaining lot above CHF/$200,000 was a truly beautiful Rolex Oyster in yellow gold with a Caravelle galleon on the dial in enamel. This was actually the top seller after the famous Calibre 89, and sold for CHF 288,000.
An enthralling auction for watch collectors which netted Antiquorum a cool $11.9m across 364 lots, showing that watches are also a worthy investment as well as beautiful and fascinating.
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Image: Antiquorum
