1947 Patek Philippe ref 1518 Sells for $420K USD in Fine Wristwatches Auction

A rare 1947 Patek Philippe ref 1518 sold for £332,313 GBP (approx. $422,000 USD) at Bonhams‘ best-ever Fine Wristwatches sale. The combined sales totaled over £2.6M GBP (approx. $3.3M USD) and saw pieces such as the yellow gold iteration of the aforementioned Patek Philippe, which was one of the rarest pieces the watchmaker had ever made.

The watch in question was owned by the same family since it was bought in 1948. It featured a white dial finished with gold hands and numbers, a black tachymeter display, two day and month windows, three subsidiary dials for constant seconds, 30 minutes register and a signature phases of the moon and date display.

Other notable sales at the Bonhams Fine Wristwatches auction include a large gold Patek Philippe dating back to 1952 which sold for £187,563 (approx. $238,000 USD), as well as a “box fresh” 2008 Patek 5970P that was never worn, achieving £100,063 GBP (approx. $127,000 USD).

Patek Philippe lead the auction with six watches in the top ten lots, however, other pieces such as a Rolex Submariner, Rolex Sea-Dweller and a Cartier Baignoire Oval Maxi also achieved big figures. The Cartier was a rare sight for the auction house and sold for £65,063 GBP (approx. $82,000 USD). It was handmade in London in a limited-run in 1968 and was made from 18K gold. Take a look at all the rare timepieces in the gallery above.

For more standout timepieces, take a look at Gucci’s latest retro-inspired watches.