Phillips’ team of watch specialists united for, what is probably to date, the rarest assembly of historically important, and in some instances unique, Royal Oak models gathered in one place. The sale took place in Geneva, and offered 88 tightly curated lots.
The majority of lots soared above their high estimates, including several record-breaking watches. Collectors from across 54 countries joined the auction, and online participation continued to increase exponentially, with more than 1000 online registered bidders. This resulted in half of the lots presented in the Royal Oak 50th selling to online bidders, with 430 watch aficionados participating in person in the saleroom.
Image credit: Phillips
The impressive and highly anticipated star-lot, a Royal Oak reference 5402ST A2 - the second Royal Oak ever made - added extra fervor to the bidding. The watch was one of the four Royal Oak models presented to the press and public at the opening of the Basel watch fair in 1972. During the auction, it eventually surpassed the CHF 1 million mark realizing CHF 1,058,500, therefore selling five times its pre-sale low estimate.
Alexandre Ghotbi, Head of Watches, Continental Europe and Middle East and Virginie Liatard Roessli Watch Specialist and Head of Sale, stated: “Our first live sale of the year demonstrated the collectors’ hunger for rare top quality and never seen timepieces, especially those with provenance. With these results, the Royal Oak has clearly demonstrated its desirability on the market. This is a watch that created a new genre, and a new design language. Its relevance and historical importance were once again recognized by scholars and collectors. This resulted in such a firework of sales, where we saw intense bidding in the room, on the phones and online, for each of the 87 watches and one book that was sold for charity.”
On Sunday, Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo reported in a new press release that they achieved CHF 38,938,400 during The Geneva Watch Auction: XV. Held over two days on 7 and 8 May, the white glove sale far exceeded its pre-sale estimate of CHF 14.6 to 27.1 million. This followed the extraordinary results of The Royal Oak 50th sale on 6 May, which achieved CHF 22.3 million, bringing the weekend total to CHF 61,242,180. The Geneva Watch Auction: XV presented 196 exceptional watches of the highest and most desirable quality. The global watch community participated from across 67 countries, with more than 600 collectors heading to the saleroom at La Réserve Hotel to participate in person, alongside 1,800 bidders competing online.
