New York, New York—Reported by Elite Traveler, the private jet lifestyle magazine
When the dust settled on Antiquorum’s last sale of the year, the final tally totaled $4,132,775. An impressive 86% of the 340 timepieces available were sold by lot and 122% sold by value. In addition to the many telephone, room, and commission bidders, there were an exceptional 464 registered internet bidders competing for the sought after timepieces, including rare Patek Philippe and Rolex lots, offered in the sale.
The highlight of the sale was undeniably the Patek Philippe Ref. 5016. The platinum minute repeating perpetual calendar wristwatch with tourbillon and unique dial inspired a bidding frenzy. After several minutes of intense competition, the exceptional timepiece sold to a phone bidder for an extraordinary $722,500.
Competitive bidding was seen throughout the auction from collectors around the globe, as bids came in from the Russian Federation, China, Hong Kong, Italy, Mexico and the United States. The enamel pocket watches offered in the sale were of particular interest to bidders. Exceptional examples by Vacheron Constantin and J. Ullmann & Co. obtained extraordinary prices, the Vacheron Constantin keyless dress watch with enamel scene of Lake Geneva by Helen May Mercier, obtained $110,500—over three times its high estimate—while the J. Ullmann & Co. Chinese market pearl-set and enamel keyless hunting-cased minute-repeating pocket watch with chronograph brought $36,250, over twice its low estimate.
The property of a North American collector also achieved noteworthy results, with 100% of the collection sold. Highlighting the collection was the Patek Philippe Ref. 1526, an 18K yellow gold wristwatch with perpetual calendar, which brought $86,500. Also attracting attention was the exceptional Patek Philippe dome clock hand-painted by the renowned graffiti artist, John “Crash” Matos. The incredible timepiece sold for an impressive $30,000, twice its high estimate. Proceeds from the clock will be donated to Aids Community Research Initiative of America (ACRIA).
In addition, Rolex was well represented in the sale with several examples selling above pre-sale estimates. In particular, the Rolex Ref. 6538 Submariner gilt dial and hands inspired a worldwide bidding war, finally selling for an incredible $40,000, over 30 times its high estimate. Also achieving excellent prices were the Rolex Ref. 6239 Paul Newman Daytona, which sold for $68,500 as well as the Rolex Ref. 6034 Pre-Daytona in pink gold that achieved $47,500.
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Not to be outdone, Breguet’s Ref. 8908, an egg shaped 18K white gold wristwatch set with diamonds, sold for $31,250. In addition, the Breguet Ref. 7027 Classic Tradition in white gold attained $22,150.
“2012 has been an exciting year for Antiquorum, and we’ve had the privilege of selling some of the world’s most coveted timepieces, resulting in exceptional prices and several world records. We were delighted to end the year on such a high note, again offering our customers the best examples from leading brands,” said Evan Zimmermann, president & CEO, Antiquorum, summing up the year in appropriately celebratory fashion.
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