F.P. Journe Tops Sotheby's Hong Kong Watch Auction
The Autumn Sale also included watches from the collection of Hiroshi Fujiwara.
In an auction dominated by lots from Patek Philippe, independent watchmaker F.P. Journe achieved the highest price at Sotheby’s latest auction in Hong Kong.
The limited edition Platinum Tourbillon Souverain “Souscription” achieved $2m USD, also setting an auction record for F.P. Journe.
Demand for Journe was such that all 13 of the watchmaker’s pieces at auction sold, selling beyond their high estimate, reaching $4.6m USD.
Overall, the Hong Kong Important Watches Autumn Sale made $33,564,400 USD, the biggest result for a Sotheby’s Watches auction in Asia.
Vintage and contemporary Patek Philippe pieces continued to lead the market though, with a platinum and diamond-set Ref. 5307, brand new to market, selling for $1.655m USD and a 1981 Ref. 3448 white gold “Senza Luna” perpetual calendar achieving $1.298m USD.
A record was also set for Patek’s Ref. 5070, with a platinum example of the chronograph with black dial hammering for $644,500 USD.
fragment design founder Hiroshi Fujiwara had consigned three lots to the sale, each originally retailed by Tiffany & Co. The watches included a Rolex GMT-Master Ref. 6542 ($113,350 USD), a pink gold Patek Philippe Ref. 5970 ($388,610 USD) and a white gold Patek Philippe Ref. 5970 ($421,000 USD).
Fifteen pieces formerly belonging to musician Eric Clapton also sold, with the top price achieved by a platinum Patek Philippe Ref. 5004, which sold for $986,600 USD, setting an auction record for the reference, along with records for Patek Philippe references 5970 and 3970.
Sotheby’s illustrated the direction sales are headed in, noting that 87.2% of all bidding was conducted online.
Elsewhere in watches, Vacheron Constantin gears up for Year of the Tiger.
