Celebrations for the 60th anniversary of the iconic Rolex Cosmograph Daytona got off to quite a successful start, although without any sales breaking world records.

Patek Philippe is the undisputed leader who continues to dominate the pre-owned watch market, while Breguet is sadly losing ground. These are the takeaways from the first large auctions in mid-May held by all the major watch auctioneers in Geneva.

Collectors pay particular attention to the Genevan auctions in May, as it's the place where trends are set for the development of the pre-owned watch market over the coming year. Based on the results realized by Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo, Sotheby’s and Christie’s, it looks like 2023 doesn't have any big sensations in store.

The most active auction house in May was Sotheby's, for whom the pre-owned watch market is just one of many other sources of income. But this level of activity shows that this large auction house is devoting more and more attention to watches. You could say Sotheby's was the best prepared out of all the auction houses to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Rolex Daytona.

Betting on Daytona Almost Paid Off

The top lot at Important Watches: Part I held in Geneva on May 14 was tipped to be a gold chronograph on a gold bracelet with a rare black dial and exotic champagne-colored counters: John Player Special Ref. 6241 with a "Paul Newman" dial circa 1969. Around 300 of these watches were released in yellow-gold cases with the "John Player Special" livery of the tobacco company that sponsored the winning Formula-1 Team Lotus.

The heated bidding led to the model being sold for CHF 2,238,000 — almost doubling the upper bracket of the pre-auction estimate: CHF 600,000 - 1,200,000. Organizers expected one of the first water-resistant Daytona models with screw-down chronograph pushers to make the top three, which once belonged to a no less mysterious person whose name was kept strictly private: Rolex Paul Newman Ref. 6240.

But bidders didn't put up a fight for it. No one offered anywhere near its pre-auction estimate (CHF 440,000 – 600,000), and the watch was pulled from the auction. By the way, a similar fate was met by the rare white-gold Patek Philippe Nautilus Ref. 3711/1G-001 circa 2006 (estimate: CHF 150,000 – 300,000).

We predicted that the organizers' plans could be thwarted by two rare François-Paul Journe models, and it turns out we were right. Second place was occupied by a very rare chronograph: F. P. Journe Ruthenium Chronomètre à Résonance No. 1 ref. 01/99-01R circa 2001. 

The first model from the Ruthenium series in a platinum case housing a cal. 1499 ruthenium-plated base movement made of ordinary brass achieved CHF 533,400 (estimate: CHF 200,000 – 400,000). Third place went to quite a modern chronograph manufactured in 2012 based on the automatic manufacture Caliber 4130 movement: Rolex Cosmograph Daytona Rainbow Ref. 116598RBOW.

The case and bracelet of this watch are made of yellow gold and encrusted with multicolored sapphires and diamonds. This model has rarely resurfaced at auctions up until now, and you could say its sales price was a very good result: CHF 419,100 (estimate: CHF 300,000 - 500,000).

Also on May 14, Sotheby's held another auction at 14:30 called Centuries of Time: A Private Collection. As its name suggests, only historical models were put up for auction at this event.

The top lot was the rare No. 1950 pocket watch by the great Abraham-Louis Breguet: a minute repeating grande and petite sonnerie watch with independent minute repetition and five gongs created in 1808 for the Ottoman Ambassador to France Galib Effendi.

The pocket watch given an estimate of CHF 500,000 - 1,500,000 was bought by an anonymous bidder for CHF 1,016,000. The final act of Sotheby’s Geneva auctions in May was Important Watches: Part II held online, which passed without any significant revelations.

The only point worth mentioning is one collector's purchase of a pair of rare Patek Philippe Nautilus models: "Jumbo" Ref. 3700/1A with an automatic cal. 28-255C movement circa 1979 in steel, as well as the rose-gold Nautilus Ref. 5712R-001 circa 2010 with a date display, power reserve indication and moon phases. The buyer paid the same sum for each watch: CHF 101,600.

Patek Philippe Solos at Christie's Again

Christie’s Rare Watches auction held on May 13 presented the catalog with the widest variety of watches, but the biggest bet at their auction was placed on Rolex Daytona, not Patek Philippe, and mainly on modern watches.

For some reason, the auction favorite picked by the organizers was the commercially produced Patek Philippe Nautilus Ref. 5711/1A-018 with a "Tiffany Blue" dial, presumably expecting that one of the last 170 models with this reference number would sell for a sum of no less than CHF 2,000,000 – 4,000,000.

The end result was in line with our predictions. The model didn't cause much of a frenzy and realized CHF 2,223,000, perhaps only thanks to the minimum price guarantee. The lot was financed by a third party, possibly the manufacturer, with a possible financing fee from Christie’s auction house itself. Nevertheless, the Nautilus with a "Tiffany Blue" dial was still the most expensive lot at the Rare Watches auction.

Even more interestingly, a fairly new (circa 2015) platinum minute repeating monopusher chronograph sold for CHF 1,008,000: Patek Philippe Ref. 5208P-001. This means the sales price was around double its initial retail price. It's a fantastic result for a model still in production which has very rarely appeared at the serious large auctions given how new it is.

In the run up to Christie’s Rare Watches, the auction house gave bidders a nice warm-up at a personal auction called the Art Of F. P. Journe. The main lot at this auction was a platinum tourbillon: F.P. Journe Tourbillon Souverain Souscription. The model numbered 2/20 from 1999 is the second ever example of the model to be made in small series and sold officially to one of the watchmaker’s friends.

The history of the brand F. P. Journe Invenit et Fecit is considered to have begun with this particular watch. In the end, the masterpiece of fine watchmaking art which experts have compared to the best creations of the late Abraham-Louis Breguet was sold for CHF 2,707,000 — 93 thousand Swiss francs short of the upper bracket of its estimate.

Another two models transcended the watershed mark of 1 million Swiss francs. One was the F.P. Journe Chronomètre à Résonance "Pré-Souscription" circa 2000 in a platinum case numbered 040/00R with a gold dial. Don't let the number confuse you, Journe only made 21 of these pieces.

It went for CHF 1,376,000. The other watch was a platinum tourbillon with a jade dial: F.P. Journe Tourbillon Souverain Nо. 754-TN. It hadn't even marked its fifth birthday yet when it sold for CHF 1,134,000.

Phillips On a Roll

Leading watch auctioneers Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo have left their competitors trailing in the dust again. The Geneva Watch Auction: XVII listed 203 lots, and all of them were sold to raise a white-glove auction total of CHF 47,172,380 (USD 52,488,707) — more than double the low pre-sale estimate.

A total of 600 collectors bidded for the lots in person at the Hôtel La Réserve while another 1675 bidded online. The result they achieved happens to be the third largest in the auction house's history, meaning this auction trumped the majority of their previous auctions.

Rolex Daytona Ref. 6270 taking the lead came as something of a surprise. In the mid-1980s, one of Rolex's most important clients, the late Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said of Oman (1940-2020), placed orders for himself and those close to him: two Daytona editions, encrusted with brilliant- and baguette-cut diamonds.

That's how the references 6269 and 6270 came into being. Less than thirty ref. 6269 watches were made, and there are only eight known ref. 6270 pieces. These models were long considered the most expensive Rolex Daytonas. And based on the results of the Genevan auctions in May, it's safe to say they're still up there, second only to the "Paul Newman" Daytona.

While the Rolex Daytona "Jack of Diamonds" Ref. 6269 auctioned off at Christie’s fetched CHF 1,134,000, the Ref. 6270 for the Sultan of Oman himself was sold for CHF 3,690,000. This world record for any gem-set Daytona indicates that clients from the Middle East were active bidders at the auction.

Otherwise, first place would have gone to the organizers' favorite — the extremely rare iconic perpetual chronograph models Ref. 2499 by Patek Philippe. But in the end, the "Series One" and "Series Two" Ref. 2499 watches occupied second and third place, respectively raising an impressive CHF 3,206,000 and CHF 2,359,000.

Fourth place was the biggest surprise at the auctions: Rolex Ref. 6541 Milgauss “The Pinnacle” circa 1958. It beat its estimate of CHF 500,000 – 1,000,000 when it sold for CHF 2,238,000. The organizers had predicted that this watch would make the top 10. It truly is extremely well preserved, with its chronometer certificate, guarantee, hang tag and presentation box.

But it wasn't expected to sell for such a high price and set a world record for any Milgauss watch: this sensation proves yet again how significant it can be if a watch is in great condition with all the original documents. The watch in fifth place was no less of a surprise: the first watch with a dial bearing the name of a great watch retailer and event organizer of our time, Jean-Claude Biver.

But it looks like it was Biver himself who paid CHF 1,270,000 for the minute repeater tourbillon in titanium. So what? He can afford to treat himself. The majority of collectors still have a lot of questions about this model's design and composition.

Phillips Imperial Patek Philippe Sale

Phillips stocked up on so many unique models that they decided to set one aside for Hong Kong. Of course, we're talking about a watch that once belonged to the last emperor of China Aisin-Gioro Puyi: Patek Philippe Calatrava Ref. 96 Quantieme Lune. The organizers came to the reasonable conclusion that there would be more bidders eager to obtain this piece in Hong Kong than Geneva.

It's the only known surviving piece of its kind (one of only eight known examples). The Phillips Imperial Patek Philippe Sale was held on May 23. Flying in the face of collector's logic, participants from 56 different countries aged from 25 to 60 bidded for a piece in a condition you could describe as worse than terrible.

It was sold to an anonymous bidder for HKD 48,850,000 (USD 6.2 million)! The majority of collectors almost unanimously agree that the anonymous bidder must have been Patek Philippe. Well, we'll have to wait and see if it appears when the exhibition at the Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva is updated, 5 or 6 years from now.

By the way, Phillips' Imperial Patek Philippe Sale was timed to coincide with the Hong Kong Spring Watch Auction: XVI, which sold watches to achieve a sales total of HKD 220 million (USD 28 million).

Nothing that special occurred at this auction, unless you count the unexpected success of the young watchmaker Rexhep Rexhepi, whose Chronomètre Contemporain RRCC01 model from last year sold for USD 923,696, overtaking  Patek Philippe's minute-repeating perpetual calendar tourbillon Ref. 5016P-018 (USD 696,824).

This is a huge deal for the Geneva-based watchmaker of Albanian descent, whose creations have been acknowledged on more than one occasion by greats such as Philippe Dufour and Kari Voutilainen.