What has happened with online sales of the most famous auction houses during 2020?
(A brief talk on a large theme)
Boston Consulting Group specialists who analyzed how the secondhand luxury market has reacted to the pandemic have concluded that revenue from preowned watch resales is now USD 16 billion, which is nearly a third of new watch sales (USD 50 billion).
A large chunk of this sum is generated by auction houses (concrete figures will follow the next article). The number of participants in major online auctions is breaking all the records, and is reaching the 2500 mark. At the same time, the BCG study titled the Secondhand Opportunity in Hard Luxury predicts yearly growth of 8% for the preowned watch segment in the near future.
Watch auctioneers and pawnbrokers are feeling confident at this point in time, especially given the 40-percent drop in sales suffered by most luxury goods houses and manufacturers. With this in mind, the houses auctioning off watches are experimenting, expanding and making livestream bidding more accessible.
Same time most watchmaking houses have begun urgently working to address concerns by introducing forgery-proof blockchain certificates of authenticity, and are even working on a system for trading in watches similar to the one used by carmakers.
After all, it's widely believed that the most powerful deterrent curbing growth in secondhand watch sales is the number of counterfeit watches surfacing on the secondhand market, which is growing at the same pace, along with fake expertise and even stolen pieces with forged certification.
Most watchmaking houses urgently raising the safety and cleareness of online trading
Auction houses are also experimenting with new forms of bidding. Take this season's new Cross-Category Online Auction as an example, where you can not only acquire, let's say, a watch from the early 1960s, but you can even pick out a full wardrobe of matching accessories, including vintage pens, belts, shoes, wallet, handbags and even a suit.
Yet despite all of the seemingly positive signs, auctions are still a long way off feeling fully confident. This is frequently reflected by the estimated range of prices, e.g. where the minimum estimate is 100 000 and the maximum is 200 000. What if it goes up to 500 000 - 1 000 000? Legendary watch auctioneer Osvaldo Patrizzi worked more accurately at his Antiquorum.
Bidders are still head over heals for Patek Philippe and Rolex, which regularly go for a higher selling price than the estimates. However, collectors have also declared their love for Audemars Piguet in the same way. Auctioneers are obviously still biased against the new object of every collector's desire. How else can you explain why pieces from this renowned watch manufacturer continue to go for twice if not three times their highest estimate?
However, what really stood out in this crisis year was that virtually every bidder at the auctions stuck to the collector's golden rule — buy a watch that's worth it, not a watch that's worth something to you. There's another law that no one has neglected: buy the watch and not the price. Even though life at traditional auctions was put on hold for half the year and were only revived in June, it's worth noting that the secondhand watch market still showed good results.
Bidders are still head over heals for Patek Philippe and Rolex, which regularly go for a higher selling price than the estimates
The second half of the year has been much more fun. Life was back in full swing at both large and small auction houses. For example, the small Swiss auction house Ineichen held two auctions, where almost 500 watches were sold. No absolute world records have been set yet.
It's mainly individual brands and models that have broken their own personal records. On November 9, the most expensive wristwatch was sold at the Geneva Watch Auction: XII held by Phillips in association with Bacs & Russo. The pink-gold dual-crown world time wristwatch with a guilloché dial went for CHF 4 991 000 (USD 5 545 999).
No absolute world records have been set yet. It's mainly individual brands and models that have broken their own personal records. On November 9, the most expensive wristwatch was sold at the Geneva Watch Auction: XII held by Phillips in association with Bacs & Russo. The pink-gold dual-crown world time wristwatch with a guilloché dial went for CHF 4 991 000 (USD 5 545 999).
The world's record-holder Rolex for the wristwatch with the highest selling price has only even exceeded the million mark once: a Ref. 6241 with a “John Player Special Paul Newman” dial was sold for CHF 1 040 000 at the end of June in Geneva. Interest in the work of independent watchmakers is also growing among collectors.
François-Paul Journe's independent watchmaking brand set a couple of records this year. Two of his F.P. Journe Tourbillon Souverain Souscription watches were sold in Geneva for CHF 2.4 mln (and one of them went for 1.4 mln), which is 10 times higher than the pre-sale estimate of CHF 230 000.
Watchmaker Philippe Dufour also achieved a personal best with the sale of a piece from the Simplicity collection commemorating the watch's 20th anniversary, which went for almost seven times higher than its estimate at CHF 1 361 000.
On the last Sunday of November, USD 17 mln was raised during the 8-hour marathon Hong Kong Watch Auction: XI held by Phillips in association with Bacs & Russo, although all of the lots that were sold went for twice their estimates (the sold rate by value was 99%).
The three winning pieces were as follows: a Patek Philippe Ref. 5104 Minute Repeater Perpetual from 2012 in platinum and pink-gold case, which sold for CHF 529 351; a vintage Rolex Ref. 6236 chronograph from 1960 which sold for CHF 514 647; and a Richard Mille Aerodyne Dual Time Zone RM 022 LE released in 2018 which sold for CHF 499 943. You know what they say, how much they're bought for is much they're sold for.
The most notable event which took place at the auction was a fight won by a Japanese collector for a historically important Panerai collection by the strange name of "Sleeping Beauties". It was acquired for USD 683 481, which is over 4 times the combined pre-sale estimates. There were 1,350 people who competed for the lots online, and another 300 bidders from 60 countries competed over the phone, which is considered a very strong turnout for Hong Kong auctions.
Overall, there weren't any sensational sales at this most recent auction. It was business as usual so to speak, and now we move on in anticipation of the main event of the year, the Racing Pulse auction, which takes place on December 12. A TAG Heuer Monaco chronograph which Steve McQueen wore when he starred in the cult 1971 film Le Mans is to be auctioned off during the event.
Also as the Rolex Oyster Cosmograph Daytona chronograph that Paul Newman gave to his daughter Clea Newman Soderlund back in the day. After this event, we'll find out whether the biggest watch auction can outdo last year's record of USD 111 mln.