Record Breaking Price For Patek Philippe Watch At Auction

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed)
May 12th 2010 at 3:02AM

The guys over at Patek Philippe are likely patting each other on the back due to a recent auction result sure to be good for the brand. Not that they really did anything in a modern sense. This was due to the sale of an old watch. A unique Patek Philippe watch from 1944 came in at $5.637 million at a Christie's auction in Geneva. That's right. Over 5.6 million dollars for a simple Patek Philippe wrist watch. Aside form the fact that it is a unique watch (and a Patek Philippe) there is nothing extraordinarily interesting about it. I gander that such a high price can be explained how many (most Asian) watch lovers and investors are looking at Patek Philippe timepieces a s money making vehicle - rather than just a item of horological fascination.

The watch is referred to at the Ref. 1527 - though there is a more modern 1527, and no classic 1527 in Patek's historical records. More than likely that watch was a prototype of experiment. Perhaps a more complex model than the highly loved 1518 Perpetual Calendar Patek Philippe watch. This 1527 watch has a chronograph that the 1518 does not have, a larger size, and a more avant garde case design. . In 18k yellow gold, the watch is further unique for being relatively large for a war-era watch. Over 37mm in width - while considered medium in size at best given today's standards, this was a large watch back in the 1940s. This watch isn't new at auction either - it was last up on the bidding slab about 20 years ago.

The lot estimate for this Patek Philippe watch was no more than $2.5 million, but that price was far exceeded. I am frankly quite amazed by the fervor of Patek Philippe watch collectors (and prospectors). I feel that much of this is about riding a slow moving wave that at some point in the future will fall a bit. Many of these watches enter auction houses like they are revolving doors. Always hoping to fetch a higher and higher price a bit down the road. Such an economy cannot be maintained. Plus, there are other brands with fantastic historical watches that eventually will be noticed if a demand can be garnered. So while Patek Philippe watches will always be valuable at auction, I just can't see this extreme price hike continuing.

Via Christie's.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: 1527, auction, christies, patek philippe, watch, watch auction

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches, Auctions

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Jeff May 12th 2010 4:43AM

Firstly, this watch is exactly the same in function as the ref 1518. The fact that as a 1527 perpetual chronograph, is known only in 1 example, makes for it being like the "Mona Lisa" of watch collecting ... There are EXTREMELY few vintage complicated Pateks made in one example. As i am in the forefront of these type of timepieces (and attended and participated in the Geneva auctions this week), i am confident that prices will continue to rise on the most exclusive vintage timepieces. Also, this watch will not hit the market again, for a long, long, time. I am confident the Geneva private museum who bought it, will have it on display quite soon.