Inside the Highest-Grossing Watch Auction in History

With three exceptional lots leading the charge, Phillips’s latest watch auction underscored a decade of record-setting performance.

Marking 10 years of redefining the auction landscape, the Decade One: Geneva 2015–2025 celebrates a transformative decade under Aurel Bacs and Alexandre Ghotbi. From record-breaking hammer prices to elevating scholarship, Phillips has taken watch collecting to new heights. Last weekend, the two-part auction in Geneva became the highest-grossing watch auction in history.

On the eve of the Decade One auction weekend, on Friday, November 7, we asked Bacs’s to give us his highlights. “As I don’t have a crystal ball, it is a very difficult task to select and predict which lots will be the hottest to watch this weekend,” Bacs said. “So, I gave it a thought, and I have a list that shows the beautiful landscape of watchmaking today,” he told us. “Lot 18 represents the 20th century and the brand that is the gold standard in our industry, Patek Philippe, the Gilbert Albert (ref 3424/1), and lot 34 is a Rolex, the golden pagoda, a spectacular gold ‘Paul Newman.’” The two-day auction included items from the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries.

The catalogue was also heavy on modern independents like F.P. Journe, but how does this sale represent his decade with Phillips? “It feels like we started yesterday,” said Bacs with enthusiasm. “Those 10 years went by, I don’t know how quickly, it seems like a matter of minutes. We still live every day as if we are a start-up, and we still have butterflies every morning when we go to the office.”

Watching Bacs on the podium when the Mona Lisa of vintage watches, the Patek Philippe steel ref. 1518, appeared around 4 p.m. on Saturday, his excitement was contagious. We witnessed bidders interrupt Bacs mid-flow to offer their million-dollar-laden paddles, quickly seeing the vintage Patek Philippe record beaten to the tune of $17.6 million. After two days in Geneva, all lots were sold for a total of $83,018.538, setting a record as the highest-grossing watch auction in history.

Of course, the Crown was, as usual, in the list of heavy hitters. Among Rolex results, the brand proved its enduring allure with a circa 1967 Daytona “Paul Newman” Ref. 6239 Golden Pagoda in 18-karat yellow gold, which achieved CHF 1,079,500 ($1,340,000)—a world record for its configuration and a testament to its condition. The circa 1971 Daytona Ref. 6263 “Paul Newman, Oyster Sotto” in stainless steel followed closely at CHF 1,391,000 ($1,728,000). Independent watchmaking also took a spotlight, led by the one-of-a-kind Ferdinand Berthoud Naissance d’Une Montre 3, selling for CHF 1,270,000 ($1,576,000)—a world record for the brand. Its sale celebrates a years-long initiative in traditional craft, with proceeds supporting the preservation of horological savoir-faire for future generations. For this year’s fall auction season, the standards are well and truly set.

Nevertheless, Patek Philippe and F.P. Journe stole the show. Here are the top three lots by value, all selling well above their estimates and reflecting an eclectic market.

Patek Philippe 1943 Ref. 1518, Sold for $17,631.075

The ref. 1518 in steel is the Ferrari GTO of vintage watches and had an estimate of CHF 8 million+ ($9.9 million). Selling for over $17.6 million this weekend, it is the most expensive vintage Patek Philippe ever sold at a for-profit auction (which excludes the famous $31 million Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime that sold at the Only Watch charity in 2019). Unveiled in 1941, Patek Philippe’s ref. 1518 marked a seismic shift in watchmaking as the world’s first serially produced perpetual calendar chronograph. With its balanced dial and timeless proportions, it became the archetype of a genre and defined Patek’s mastery of complications. Over its 14-year production run, just 281 pieces were made, most in yellow gold, with around 20 percent in pink gold, and only four known in stainless steel. With its crisp lines and ironically utilitarian alloy, this example stands apart as the first steel 1518 ever produced, according to scholars. Three of the four share consecutive case numbers from 1943, adding to the intrigue surrounding their creation. Experts still debate why these high-complication pieces were manufactured in steel. We will never know whether it was a wartime necessity, a special commission, or, in fact, an experiment. Whatever the motive, the 1518 has solidified its place as both a technical milestone and a legend of enduring rarity.

Patek Philippe 1947 Ref. 1518, sold for $4,432,000

Lot 144 in the Decade One auction went under the hammer for CHF 3,569,000 (approximately $4,432,000 at exchange rates at the time), and its “pink on pink” visage came in as the second-highest lot at over $4 million. With an estimate between CHF 1.2 million ($1,488,000) and CHF 2.4 million ($2,976,000), the second rarest of the 281 Patek Philippe ref. 1518s produced is an endgame watch for collectors worldwide. With its rich, warm tones, the detail-packed dial stands out and proves why the ref. 1518 has set the standards for a long line of successors that spans the timelines of Pateks, like the ref. 2499 and 3970, right up to the current ref. 5270. Throughout the 14-year production of the ref. 1518, watches cased in pink gold were either fitted with a silvered dial or, in rare instances, with a pink dial. Only 14 examples of this exact case-and-dial combination are known, making it one of the rarest and most exclusive complicated Patek Philippe wristwatches for collectors to acquire.

F.P. Journe 2000 Chronomètre à Résonance Souscription, Sold for $4,133,000

The third-most-valuable watch sold by an exuberant Bacs this weekend underlined the rise of the independents, especially auction-room darling F.P. Journe. In fact, of the top five watches sold by value, two were F.P. Journes. This 2000 F.P. Journe Chronomètre à Résonance Souscription No. 2 achieved CHF 3,327,000 (approximately $4,133,000), vigorously beating its estimate of CHF 450,000 to CHF 900,000. With its clean lines and platinum case, this dual-time watch by François-Paul Journe was his second “Souscription” model, inspired by the 18th-century French royal clockmaker Antide Janvier’s double-pendulum clocks. This 25-year-old F.P. Journe, from the original owner, offers insight into independent horological history as the second subscription Resonance (bearing number 002) and the only subscription model to appear on the auction market.

This article originally appeared in Robb Report US.