The December auctions held by the three major watch auction houses concluded without fanfare. The entire new year of 2024 looks set to be just as quiet.

Christie's Important Watches auction held on December 5 realized a sales total of USD 11,204,650. This auction house's misfortune at the Geneva sales came back to haunt it towards the end of the year.

Sotheby’s Important Watches achieved a slightly better result: USD 14,514,960. Phillips' New York Watch Auction: NINE achieved a sales total of USD 25,952,374 — which isn't a massive amount either. Then again, the December auctions have never fetched huge sums of money.

Sky Moon Tourbillon Helped Christie’s

The top lot at Christie's Important Watches was of course the legendary Sky Moon Tourbillon by Patek Philippe. One of the most complicated wristwatches with twelve complications, Ref. 5002P-001 was estimated to go for USD 1,200,000 – 2,200,000, and sold for USD 1,562,500.

You have to take into account that this piece wasn’t part of the first legendary run in 2001, when an annual maximum of ten pieces were launched inspired by the Star Caliber 2000 pocket watch made to commemorate the new millennium. The watch in this lot was made later, in 2011.

By then, the manufacture had made a full 40 of these mechanical masterpieces in platinum. Twelve years later, this watch has become half a million dollars more expensive. Is that impressive?  Only at first glance. In reality, the Sky Moon Tourbillon has achieved an average annual growth in value of around 4.17 percent — the dollar has depreciated at a significantly faster rate.

Had the watch not been sold by Christie's, we think it would have been able to fetch more. By the way, the new owner acquired this watch without a strap. As we've discussed in previous pieces, this is due to the fact that Sotheby's has taken a proactive approach to fighting for animal rights, at least on US soil, where they really seem to love alligators.

There are some difficult nuances here. Firstly, original Patek straps for the Sky Moon Tourbillon don't come cheap. Secondly, a non-original strap for this model is always a drawback when reselling. From the bottom of our hearts, we hope that the buyer and consignor will be able to reach a reasonable compromise on this sensitive issue.

Second place was occupied by a unique tourbillon in a white-gold case: Richard Mille Ref. RM018 AI WG, which was launched by the independent watchmaker in 2008 to mark the 150th anniversary of the jewelry and watch house Bouсheron.

It's a unique piece (30 varying pieces were born from this series), but that isn't what makes this watch special. What makes this model special are the movement's wheels inside the case, carved out of semi-precious stones: tiger's eye, jasper, black onyx, as well as diamonds.

The mainplate for caliber RM-018 is made of sapphire. Basically, this watch is considered the precursor of the famous fully transparent sapphire watch, Richard Mille RM-056.

Third and fourth place went to François-Paul Journe. One was a second-generation platinum Tourbillon Souverain à Remontoir d'Égalité from 1999 numbered 27, and the other was a platinum Chronomètre à Résonance "Pre-Souscription" from 2000, which were sold for USD 693,000 and USD 441,000, respectively. Again, this isn't a huge amount of money.

All the rest, right up to ninth place, were five Patek Philippe watches (a perpetual calendar, three minute repeaters, and a Calatrava), with sales prices ranging from USD 277,200 to USD 378,000.  The top ten was rounded out by the steel Rolex Daytona "Paul Newman" chronograph (USD 266,800).

Tastes on the number-one pre-owned watch market clearly haven't changed. Out of all the other lots, the only other one worth highlighting is a 18-carat gold ladies' watch: Cartier Baignoire Allongée "Maxi Oval" numbered 8900, which went for USD 126,000.

This isn't a very big sum for this model, but again, it goes to show that demand and prices for watches by Cartier on the pre-owned watch market are steadily on the rise.

Sotheby's with an American Accent

The results of the Sotheby’s Important Watches auction held on December 7 clearly show that the tastes of American collectors haven't changed.

No matter where a Patek Philippe Ref. 1518R resurfaces, this perpetual calendar chronograph in a pink-gold case and Holy Grail for watch collectors always makes the list of top lots.

This model wasn't offered with a presentation box or papers, although it did come with an extract from the Patek Philippe archives confirming that the watch is of genuine origin and was sold to a certain Mr. Kaplan on June 25, 1952.

Nevertheless, it sold for USD 1,512,000. Well, the condition of this watch was just wonderful, but not exceptional or excellent.

That's the magic a name and a reference number can work. Oh, and Joseph A. Kaplan himself was a fairly famous businessman in America. It was a tie for first place with another idol across the Atlantic — the yellow-gold Rolex Daytona "John Player Special" chronograph with a black "Paul Newman" dial.

It wasn't offered on a bracelet, and didn't have a box or papers either, but it did come straight from the family of its first and only owner, who found it hidden in a small pouch in a bank’s safety deposit box. Yet it sold for the same sum of USD 1,512,000.

This all boils down to the fact that there are few of these models left, and even fewer in more or less decent condition. The lot with the third highest estimate was the F. P. Journe Chronomètre à Résonance Ruthenium, which fetched a fairly modest USD 342,900.

Other interesting lots worth singling out include the Cartier Paris "Mystery Clock" in a gold case featuring radial Roman numerals encrusted with rose-cut diamonds, and a rim set with coral on an onyx base.

This lot raised USD 596,900, securing 5th place. Other top lots were the MB&F Horological Machine HM9 "Sapphire Vision" Flow in seventh place (USD 317,500), and a simple piece from a watchmaking point of view: Cartier Crash (USD 184,500).

Another point that deserves a mention is how long it's been since an auction catalog featured so many relatively fresh pieces by Panerai and A. Lange & Söhne. These happen to be really popular models on the American market.

An Exceptional Case at Phillips

The organizers of the Phillips New York Watch Auction: NINE held on December 9-10 managed to get hold of an exceptionally preserved Patek Philippe Ref. 1518. So is it any wonder that this model turned out to be the star lot? It fetched USD 1,814,500.

This example was housed in a pink-gold case, far fewer of which were made than the yellow-gold version out of the 281 examples made. So that could hardly be the reason why the watch didn't reach the two-million dollar mark. It was even accompanied by an extract from Patek Philippe's archives confirming production and sale.

Second place was taken by another Ref. 6264 Rolex Cosmograph Daytona "John Player Special" with a "Paul Newman" dial, but this one had a "Lemon" yellow dial.

It went for USD 965,200. The color of its "Lemon" dial is actually what makes this piece special. Far fewer models with "Lemon" dials were made than the ones with "Champagne" dials. One of these little lemons achieved USD 2,087,000 last summer in New York. So why has it sold for half the price now?

We'll put it down to the aftershock of November's drama and scandals. The summer of 2022 was generally a more turbulent time the world over from a purely psychological point of view. Third place was secured by a platinum perpetual calendar split-seconds chronograph: Patek Philippe Ref. 5204P-21, sold for USD 838,200.

Almost the same model, Ref. 5204P-011, was sold a day earlier at Christie's for just USD 177,800. It's all down to the dial: Ref. 5204P-21 was given a sporty style with red chronograph hands, and it could be a one-of-a-kind. It might seem like tiny detail, but you'll feel the difference in your pocket, as they say.

Overall, Phillips and Christie's offered a very similar selection of lots. But the Swiss watchmaker came out on top at Phillips because of the rarer models. And their top ten didn't feature pieces that fell in value by 1.2 million.

The next pieces in the top ten by Patek Philippe, F. P. Journe and Rolex were just shy of the one-million-dollar mark. The top ten was rounded out by a model created by George Daniels and Roger Smith: Anniversary no. 16 (one of 35 pieces) with a power reserve indication, calendar-date hands, and a seconds hand counterpoise.

The upper bracket of its estimate was set at one million dollars, dream on! The final sales price for this truly rare historically important watch ended up being significantly lower: USD 609,600. It's been said before, it's not a good idea to put pressure on collectors.

For some reason, the Casio G-Shock G-D001 in a full gold case which the organizers and some journalists had tipped to be one of the biggest sensations at this auction was acquired by an unnamed bidder for USD 400,050, taking 18th place.

This appears to be less of a sensation, more of an exceptional case. and the manufacturer probably played a role here, using the lot to make their presence felt.

Credits taken from: www.sothebys.com, www.christies.com, www.phillips.com