Tariffs, modern prizes, andâ¦emails! This was one of the strangest auction seasons I can remember in some time. In Geneva this weekend, the major auction housesâChristieâs, Phillips, Sothebyâs, and Antiquorumâheld their big May auctions, one of the most significant events on the calendar for vintage watches. But the weirdness started a few weeks ago in Monaco.
Spring auctions are always a helpful data point in determining the health of the watch market, but with tariff news swinging around like a sledgehammer, auction houses treated these results as a weathervane for the whole global economy. The auction house Monaco Legend Group described watches as âa safe haven in uncertain timesâ and immune âto economic volatility.â (This has long been a talking point for auction house leaders.)
There was more good news this weekend as a half-dozen watches passed the one-million mark. Even better is that these notable prices came from a large variety of brands, from F.P. Journe, A. Lange & Söhne, and Richard Mille to Cartier and Rolex. Meanwhile, a younger contingent of collectors is starting to make itself heard. Christieâs reported that 28% of bidders were new clients and 37% of its clients were Gen Z or millennials.
These new bidders didnât necessarily change the makeup of the results, though. Unique, vintage watches still delivered the best results. Thatâs despite the auction houses trotting out two of the most desirable modern watches in the world. A Rolex Daytona âLe Mansâ ($254,856) and one of Simon Bretteâs Chronomètre Artisans ($241,749), both released within the last couple of years, were sold for fine but not extraordinary numbers.
But outside of economic headwinds and multi-million dollar results, there are plenty of less talked-about gems. These are my personal favorites and most interesting results from this weekend.
Rolex Daytona unique piece by Asprey ref. 116500 (Sold for 175,000 Swiss Francs; $208,085)
