It was a little quiet on auction platforms in March, but the pre-owned watch market is waking up.

Favorable Sotheby's

The big auction houses each held a couple of auctions. The sales weren't that interesting, but they offered some lucky buyers the opportunity to nab cheap collection fillers. Take Sotheby’s Fine Watches for example, which closed on March 31 in New York. The top lot was a significant model in the history of Patek Philippe: the Ref. 5970P-001 perpetual calendar chronograph in a platinum case measuring 40 mm in diameter from 2009.

The successful bidder snapped it up for just USD 254,000. Thierry Stern brought this model back into production In 2009 after taking over the reins from his father, Philippe Stern, and Ref. 5970 was meant to symbolize the dawn of a new era in the manufacture's development.

Its main distinguishing features were the larger case size, its refined Lemania 2310 base chronograph caliber, modified to create the mechanical CH 27-70 Q movement, and the tachymeter scale beyond the railroad seconds track as a mark of respect for its famous predecessor, Ref. 2499. Ref. 5970P retailed for just over EUR 100,000 and had previously been sold on the pre-owned watch market for an average of EUR 350,000. So the buyer at Sotheby's sale got a good deal, right?

The same can also be said of Patek Philippe's Ref. 5070. When the legendary Ref. 1463 was discontinued in the 1960s, the great watchmaker's catalog had no regular standalone chronograph, unaccompanied by a perpetual calendar, minute repeater, or tourbillon — for forty years! In 2008, Thierry Stern introduced the platinum Ref. 5070 to mark the 10th anniversary of the watchmaker's transition from the Lemania 2310 movement.

The new chronograph had a simply huge case by Patek Philippe's standards at 42 mm — something its owners could really take pride in and show off. Despite the large number of would-be owners, availability of this platinum chronograph, made to mark the first double-digit anniversary of parting with the Lemania 2310, was limited to 250 pieces.

The relatively cheap Ref. 5070 compared to other iconic watches by Patek Philippe has been a dark-horse favorite on the pre-owned watch market ever since. And then it suddenly appeared at this auction on March 31, and it found a new owner almost without a struggle, for some USD 165,100. This was the third most expensive lot.

And wouldn't it be a steal to pick up an iconic Rolex Daytona "Paul Newman" Ref. 6240 chronograph with a steel case and bracelet from 1967 for just USD 190,500? That's how this auction went down.

Phillips On Par

Similar results were achieved by Phillips Watches Online Auction: the Geneva Sessions Spring 2025, which closed on March 12. The top lot was Richard Mille's Ref.  RM17-01 titanium tourbillon from 2021. A classic of the genre, it showcases the reasons why fans of haute horlogerie have become so fond of Richard Mille: a flawlessly skeletonized and finished movement with its baseplate, openworked supporting bridges, and main components all made of grade 5 titanium.

And it also had a manual winding system to power visible complications and signature functions, such as the function indicator, power reserve indicator, and safety system with a blocking gear to protect the roller jewel of the balance and winding barrel from overwinding. 

It's a pity that Richard Mille rarely makes models like this anymore. And in the end, the watch sold for CHF 304,800. Another skeletonized tourbillon resurfaced on the pre-owned watch market. This time, it was Audemars Piguet's Royal Oak Tourbillon Extra-Thin Openworked Ref. 26518ST from 2017. Its steel case and bracelet are what make it rare: only platinum and yellow-gold versions were made up until 2017.

It was launched as a limited edition of 100 pieces, each priced at USD 204,400. The iffy timing of the sale didn't allow the consignor to turn much of a profit: the lot sold for CHF 203,200. Well, at least they basically broke even. The top three was rounded out by F. P.  Journe's Chronomètre à Résonance "Parking Meter" from 2012 in a 40-mm platinum case (no. 078-RT).

This is a fairly rare edition of the iconic model by François-Paul Journe. It gets its unusual name from the 24-hour rotating disk that the maestro placed on the left subdial instead of hour and minute hands, which looks very similar to mechanical parking meters. The model sold for the same sum of CHF 203,200, which is an unusually low price for this watch.

Models sold for the same price are usually acquired by one and the same collector. So you could congratulate this buyer on two excellent new additions to their collection. The same goes for another pair of watches sold for CHF 190,500: the platinum A. Lange & Söhne Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon Ref. 740.036FE from 2017, and the white-gold Patek Philippe Nautilus Perpetual Calendar Ref. 5740/1G-001.

Phillips held another Asian sale with the same format that closed on March 26: Phillips Watches Online Auction: The Hong Kong Sessions, Spring  2025. It didn't do any better. First place was secured by an eye-catching watch in every sense of the word: Richard Mille's Ref. RM35-02 CA TPT Raphael Nadal skeletonized tourbillon from 2017 in a Carbon TPT case, which sold for HKD 2,159,000 (approx. USD 277,609).

Someone acquired Ulysse Nardin's platinum Ref. 749-80 Circus Minute Repeater with animated jaquemarts, launched in 2005 as a 30-piece limited edition, for a sum equivalent to USD 90,000. Third place was occupied by Patek Philippe's steel Aquanaut Travel Time Ref. 5164A-001 from 2018, which raised the equivalent of approx. USD 78,000.

That's not a bad result given that it retailed for around USD 36,000. So will we have to wait until the Genevan sales in May to see big auctions with million-dollar lots? No, not that long. We have a couple of rather interesting auctions to look forward, and one of them begins tomorrow.

First Big Deal of the Year

The first million-mark auction sale of the year will be held by Boston's RR Auction, closing on April 17 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Space Exploration auction will offer the Omega Speedmaster Ref. BA 145.022 chronograph once owned by the American astronaut Neil Armstrong — the first man to walk on the Moon. Of course, it isn't the chronograph that he sported on the cuff of his spacesuit as he took that historic first small step.

It's one of a limited edition of 28 pieces that Omega launched to celebrate the historic event, 26 of which were presented to NASA astronauts alive and deceased on November 25, 1969, during a special gala dinner at the Hotel Warwick in Houston. The watch presented to Neil Armstrong was no. 17 in the series, and its caseback is engraved: "To mark man's conquest of space with time, through time, on time." and "Astronaut Neil A. Armstrong, Gemini 8 – Apollo 11."

This watch, which my father liked to wear on special occasions, symbolizes one of the most remarkable achievements in the history of mankind," said Mark Armstrong, the late astronaut's son. "A substantial portion of the proceeds from the sale of this watch will benefit charitable causes my father believed in, furthering the impact that he and many other Americans made to humanity more than half a century ago."

Americans are very proud of the fact that they managed to outpace the Russians in the Space Race to the Moon, and they treat artifacts of this achievement with great care. So items like these are deemed very valuable.

Three weeks ahead of the auction, 20 bids have already been made on the website rrauction.com to buy this watch. As this article is being written, the offers have reached USD 1,366,694. The organizers are also confident that the model will fetch a large sum.

Monaco Starts Strong

The first really big Exclusive Timepieces auction of the year will be held On April 26 and 27 at the Hôtel Méridien Beach Plaza in Monaco by Monaco Legend Auctions. The auction will offer 247 models, and the organizers are hopeful that at least four of these lots will be able to make it over the milestone mark of one million euro.

First and foremost, this applies to the three-hand Rolex Oyster "Ovettone" Ref. 6098 from 1954. The Italian nickname "Ovettone" can roughly be translated as "big egg". This was how they dubbed Rolex model designs from the 1930s and 1940s with domed dials and bulging casebacks. The Oysters were considered exemplary watches back then, so other watchmakers soon began naming their watches in a similar fashion, and the style itself took off, which combined sporty and classic wristwatch features.

This particular "Overttone" is unique in that it has a specially commissioned dial with an illustration of a dragon rendered using the cloisonné enameling technique. Both the watch's case and bracelet are made of yellow gold. The lot is expected to achieve a significantly higher price, given the fact that the watch is even accompanied by its preserved presentation box. The organizers hope that the model will bring in EUR 600,000 –⁠ 1,200,000

More generally, it's worth mentioning that a diverse range of watches by Rolex will be offered in Monaco. You'll also be able to find the rarest vintage watches, made when Rolex didn't shy away from complicated models, as well as the iconic "Paul Newman" Daytona, and even the most coveted new models.

For example, the auction's organizers have listed a unique Rolex Oyster Triple Calendar Moon Phase Ref. 6062 from 1953 in fairly reasonable condition. But clearly on the consignor's request, the organizers have applied a very rare condition: the watch can only be sold for over one million euro, and the watch simply won't be sold if bidding doesn't reach this mark.

That's steep! The last time this particular model appeared at an auction was on May 11, 2009 at Christie's Important Watches in Geneva. Back then, it sold for CHF 447,000. By the looks of it, not only is its current owner resolute, but also optimistic, seeing as they won't settle for less than a 100-% profit. But thanks to that auction 16 years ago, this watch has ended up in many guides and handbooks dedicated to Rolex.

What sets this Triple Calendar Moon Phase apart from its predecessor, Ref. 8171, is its water-resistant case with a screw-on caseback and the Super Oyster winding crown. It's essentially one of the first water-resistant wristwatches with a full calendar. And this model is described as extremely rare because so few pieces were made, and the few that have survived in original condition often break records if they ever resurface at the auctions.

Needless to say, watches by Patek Philippe are also among the favorites at Exclusive Timepieces. How could we go without them? For example, there's a rare Ref. 1526 Perpetual Calendar Moon Phase display from 1944. Now we're too pampered with smartphones that do a great job at replacing personal assistants, so it's hard to appreciate how important and coveted watches with perpetual calendars were back then.

Not only did Patek Phillip present the great, iconic Ref. 1518 perpetual calendar chronograph at the 1941 Swiss Watch Fair in Basel, the simple Ref. 1526 was also introduced: a perpetual calendar in an exquisite pink-gold case measuring 34 mm in diameter, sporting a perfectly matching salmon dial. Ref. 1526 enjoyed almost as much success as Ref. 1518. No more than 210 examples are known to exist.

This perpetual calendar with its rose-colored vibrancy enjoyed particular success in Latin American countries. Its biggest buyer and distributors were legendary Latin American retailers: Casa Masson in Brazil, Joyeria Rivera in Cuba, Serpico y Laino in Venezuela, and Casa Welsch in Peru. All of them asked for the dials to be stamped with their names and logos, which makes Patek Philippe models from this period even rarer.

This specific model was made in 1944, sold a year later, and bears Casa Masson's signature. The signature and very good condition of the watch mean that the organizers can even hope for a little above the pre-auction estimate of EUR 500,000 –⁠1,000,000. Another hopeful to exceed the million mark is one of the hottest models made by Patek Philippe in recent years: the Nautilus 5711/1P from 2012. The launch of this special platinum version of the bestseller was in 2006.

But the word "launch" sounds too public. Platinum Nautilus watches were mostly privately commissioned by friends of the great watchmaker. For example, this model was commissioned by the famous collector Ike Honigstock, who owns one of the biggest collections of timepieces by Patek Philippe.

Mr. Honigstock, who owned an original rare platinum Nautilus 3700 model, requested exactly the same version of Ref. 5711 in 2011. His main request was that it mustn't have any diamonds. You might remember that all of Patek Philippe's platinum models have a diamond set in the caseband at 6 o'clock.

Thierry Stern made a compromise, and launched twelve of these models for the closest friends of the maison. Nautilus Ref. 5711-1P-010  has a different dial from the other watches in the series. It's also blue, but you could describe its tone as brighter and more eye-catching. Something tells us that this model is bound to trump its modest estimate of EUR 400,000 – 800,000.

Credits provided by: www.sothebys.com, www.phillips.com, www.monacolegendauctions.com, 
www.rrauction.com