Patek Philippe's world record and other March results.

This year's major inaugural international watch auction in online format took place on March 20: Christie’s Top of the Time in Hong Kong, where the famous Patek Philippe Sky Moon Tourbillon Ref. 6002G-001 model sold for HKD 45,500,000 (around USD 5.7 million) The year got off to a very promising start.

This model is a slightly improved follow-up of the iconic Sky Moon Tourbillon Ref. 5002, which was launched in 2001 to celebrate the third decade with an output of only around 10 pieces per year. It was proclaimed the world's most complicated wristwatch at the time and cost a million US dollars.

Patek Philippe introduced Ref. 6002 in 2013 with twelve complications, featuring a minute repeating tourbillon complete with perpetual and astronomical functions including sidereal time.

Not only did lucky buyers have to part with USD 1.3 million to get their hands on this record-breaking model, they also had to make an application to prove their track record with Patek, and spend a number of years on the brand's waiting list for loyal clients before receiving the "application piece".

"Even if you offered USD 6 million for the watch, we wouldn't sell it to you unless you are approved," said the former president of Patek North America Larry Pettinelli in one of the interviews he gave.

If you do the math, the price of the Sky Moon Tourbillon has risen to five times its original retail price. These figures can play a decisive role for easily influenced novice collectors and investors without a fully fleshed-out picture of the pre-owned watch market.

We suspect this model was probably acquired by the manufacture itself with the intent of exerting precisely this influence on potential clients. Patek Philippe's particularly wise and carefully guarded auction policy works far better than hundreds of advertisements and prime-time media minutes.

Second place at the same auctions was occupied by another Patek Philippe model: Grand Complication Ref. 5208P-001 circa 2015, a minute repeating perpetual calendar where calendar indications switch simultaneously and synchronously.

It also boasts a monopusher chronograph and moon-phase display. The watch in a platinum case was given an estimate of HKD 5,500,000 - 9,500,000 and sold for a modest HKD 7,812,000 (about USD 997,000).

The top-three most expensive watches were rounded out by a platinum skeletonized minute repeating perpetual calendar by Gérald Genta on a platinum bracelet: HKD 819,000, triple the arithmetic mean of its estimate.

Phillips is the leading watch auctioneer with a third (31.2%) of the market share, and the second online auction curated by Phillips’ Watch Specialists in Geneva took place in March. This auction's main selling point was the fact that its line-up of lots was prepared by auction house experts.

Open for bidding on March 9-16, the auction achieved very predictable results, which almost completely matched up to the experts' recommendations. Only the top two picks on the list of highlights swapped places.

The top pick was the tourbillon with a constant force device: F.P. Journe Tourbillon Souverain from 2004 in a 40-mm platinum case with a pink-gold dial and movement. Estimated to go for CHF 150,000-300,000, it occupied second place and realized CHF 254,000.

First place was actually taken by the Patek Philippe Perpetual Calendar Chronograph Ref. 5970P-001. It was made in 2010 as part of the last perpetual calendar chronograph wristwatch series to feature a Lemania base caliber 2310. Given an estimate of CHF 120,000 - 240,000, it sold for CHF 279,400.

And third place was predictably taken by a new piece by Audemars Piguet made in 2022: Royal Oak Jumbo Extra Thin Chronograph 50th Anniversary Ref. 16202OR.OO.1240OR.01. Estimated to go for CHF 47,200-94,400, the pink-gold model with a full set of documents (including a Certificate of Origin confirming it's part of the Royal Oak’s 50th Anniversary release) realized CHF 165 100.

The organizers had also highlighted the fate of watches by Daniel Roth. This was certainly no coincidence. The management team at LVMH decided to wake another brand from hibernation and channel all their energy into marketing it.

The project was assigned to Frédéric Arnault himself, son of LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault. In addition to the usual presentation, each piece by Daniel Roth in the online lot listing is accompanied by a detailed catalog essay. This undoubtedly helped achieve good sales.

 Take an early model from the brand created in 1987 as an example: the Daniel Roth Monopusher Chronograph circa 1990 equipped with a vintage Lemania ébauche from the 1930s was estimated to go for CHF 20,000-40,000 and fetched CHF 60,960.

And the openworked perpetual calendar Daniel Roth Ref. C117 from 1996 achieved an even higher sales price, beating its estimate of CHF 25,000 - 50,000 to realize CHF 95,250. Owners of Daniel Roth's work should move fast to avoid missing out.

Demand for his watches will be warmed up this year by the finest luxury from the LVMH Group, so now is the time to make a profit. This successful window doesn't look set to last long though. Especially when you consider Daniel Roth's revival with the Tourbillon Souscription model didn't make much of an impression at the Watch & Wonders trade show which only recently wrapped up in Geneva.

Many collectors kept a close eye on the Rolex Cosmograph Daytona Ref. 116506 circa 2019, a reference number launched in 2013. The first serially produced Daytona chronograph in platinum with diamond indexes was introduced to mark the 50th anniversary of this iconic model. But this sale was anticlimactic: Ref. 116506 was given an estimate of CHF 70,000 - 140,000 and sold for CHF 127,000.

The first appearance of a watch by the relatively recently revived brand Czapek at a Phillips auction went down quite well indeed. The Czech-born, Polish master watchmaker Franciszek Czapek co-founded the grand maison Patek Philippe. The sporty Czapek & Cie. Antarctique Passage de Drake Roaring Forties sold for CHF 20,320, which isn't a massive amount, but still a little higher than its modest estimate of CHF 10,000 - 20,000.

All eyes in the watchmaking industry were glued to Geneva's Watch & Wonders in March, which put auctions on the back burner for a while. But the pre-owned watch market is already busily preparing for May, when all the major watch auctioneers traditionally hold large auctions in Geneva. That’s where we'll see the bidding get heated!