Auctions in 2022: On Your Marks for a Season of Heated Bidding

This year's auction season promises some rather heated bidding, with continued strong growth in prices for watches manufactured by time-honored brands and new world records. 

Which events will have the greatest impact on the pre-owned watch market? What and who do we need to watch most carefully? Last year's auctions went out with a bang: the new stainless steel Patek Philippe Nautilus Ref. 5711/1A-018 with a dial in the shade of Tiffany Blue (Pantone “1837 Blue”) was sold to an anonymous bidder at the Phillips New York Watch Auction for a final price of USD 6,503,500.

The signal was clear. This is no ordinary high season on the pre-owned watch market, it's on fire! And now the first auctions of the year are taking place in March. What can we expect? No one is fooled by the brief lull in activity on the watch market, it’s just the calm before the storm in the run-up to the world's largest watch and jewelry trade show, Watch & Wonders in Geneva. Watch collectors and investors expect very heated bidding.

Given the high level of volatility on the foreign-exchange market against the backdrop of the political and economic turmoil on top of the pandemic, the number of people looking to convert their funds into masterpieces of haute horlogerie and highly sought-after timepieces is growing by the day. Wthere may not have been many new world records set last year, just regional ones, this year won't go by without them.

So, what do we recommend keeping the closest eye on this year? Of course, it should be the watchmakers on the list of auction favorites. Since the list has already been drawn up, it’ll stick for a long time, for five years at the very least: Patek Philippe, Rolex, Audemars Piguet, Vacheron Constantin, A.Lange & Söhne, independent F.P. Journe, Philippe Dufour, Kari Voutilainen, Richard Mille, De Bethune, Svend Andersen…

Audemars Piguet is the one to watch! The brand’s model-range reform is nearing completion, and it’s times like these you can always expect to see some surprises. In the past, the main reason interest in the good old Ref. 15202 would increase automatically was if models were custom-made.

But the updated Royal Oak is being closely watched by everyone who invests in watches, without exception. It's all the more relevant this year, as the style icon which blazed the trail for a whole new category of watches called sport de luxe turns 50 this year.

Four models have already been released to mark the occasion: steel, pink-gold, yellow-gold and platinum versions of the automatic Royal Oak “Jumbo” Extra-Thin 39 mm Ref. 16202 house the new АР 7121 manufacture movement (plus two openworked Ref. 16204 versions).

 There are no less than eleven reference editions of the same model in a 37 mm case. Three variations of the 41 mm Royal Oak Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon ref. 26730 have also been introduced in steel, titanium and pink gold, plus another openworked Ref. 26735 version.

Then there are twelve versions of the Royal Oak Selfwinding Chronograph 41 mm ref. 26240. It uses the automatic АР 4401 integrated flyback-chronograph manufacture movement. The Royal Oak Selfwinding Chronograph 38 mm ref. 26715 was released in five different editions.

On top of this, we can expect to see limited anniversary watches at the Watch & Wonders auction in Geneva this April, which may well be more super concept watches, and the second half of 2022 will see another range of the latest Royal Oak watches with different case materials measuring 41 mm and 34 mm in diameter.

Let's not forget it's been three years since Audemars Piguet launched 11.59. Now is the time when pieces from the first series should start to resurface at auctions. True, the reliability of investing money in this model is purely based on trust placed in the reputation of the historic and respected manufacturer.

Yet it does have this trust, not to mention the reputation. And a big one! Right now, Audemars Piguet isn’t just being kept busy updating its bread-winning model, it's also securing the fate of Code, which it placed big bets on three years ago and is also monitoring very closely.

Models designed with the wishes of the first clients in mind may begin to appear as early as this year. And if Audemars Piguet decides to get serious about promoting its second-wave models, there's a good chance they'll develop a cult following over time.

It's worth noting all of these expectations are for one watchmaker. People's expectations are no lower for anxiously awaited debuts from Jean-Claude Biver. The great watchmaking impresario has promised to launch the watch brand he dreamed of all his life, without any looking back over his shoulder at traditions observed by watchmakers in the past, and without obsessing over market trends.

Don't forget, Biver essentially revived brands such as Blancpain and Hublot, and helped Omega regain its leading position. Oh yes, and Phillips Perpetual has an interesting exhibition lined up titled "Made in Germany, a Tribute to the Early Lange 1 and Datograph".

Its exhibits consist of the most iconic models that heralded the revival of Saxon brand A. Lange & Söhne based in Glashütte: history's first wristwatch with the Big Date Lange 1 indication and the European chronograph with its counters positioned slightly below the center of the watch, Datograph.

The exhibition is limited to timepieces released from 1994 to 2008. It won't include many exhibits with just over 20 pieces, but they demonstrate how the design of iconic models has evolved, especially in their use of font, and it includes models which have already become the stuff of legends.

For instance, the manufacture released 30 Lange 1 pieces in steel which were made without taking excess care so that clients would send their watches back for repairs and keep in up to date with the latest creations from their favorite brand. Needless to say, almost all of them preferred to hold onto the rarest replacement pieces, and didn't go back for their gold and platinum pieces.

The exhibition will also showcase a very rare Datograph chronograph in a platinum case and on a platinum bracelet from a 10-piece series made for the Milanese retailer Pisa Orologeria. Don't forget, Phillips Perpetual is part of the largest auction house, which offers a year-round boutique experience on the third floor of Phillips London department at 30 Berkeley Square.

Watches can only be bought or sold there, but you can get a sense of how the pre-owned market operates, its trends, and the buying-and-selling customary  procedures at modern auction houses.  Detailed personal exhibitions reserved for one particular brand never slip under the radar.

A. Lange & Söhne's standing on the pre-owned watch market is sure to increase, and prices for German watches are set to grow. It's likely H. Moser & Cie. will finally be welcomed into the fold of small independent manufactures which are already cherished by fans of watchmaking.

It's a remarkable company which embodies the creativity of Vallée de Joux — the iconic hub of haute horlogerie near Geneva, fused with the technical perfection and sophistication of Schaffhausen. They'll also be joined by Lauren Ferrier and Konstantin Chaykin. Joint projects are something we shouldn't loose sight of, where watches are created by two manufacturers.

There'll be slightly less of them this year, as the biannual Only Watch auction will take place next year, but there'll still be others. And it's bound to be interesting to watch what Greubel Forsey cooks up for connoisseurs, having broken free from the the Richemont group.

It'll also be interesting to predict which direction the renowned brands Girard-Perregaux and Ulysse Nardin are going to move in, who've also decided to go it alone without the wise and perceptive guidance of the LVMH group. What if it turns out to be just the right move? Expectations are clearly through the roof. We're in for a fascinating heated bidding season.