2+ week, 6+ day ago (565+ words) A one-of-four steel Patek Philippe Perpetual Calendar Chronograph (Ref. 1518) from 1943 sold for a record $17.6 million at Phillips over the weekend. Phillips celebrated a decade's worth of watch auctions in a fittingly memorable fashion. The auction house, in partnership with Bacs & Russo, held a landmark sale at the Hotel President in Geneva over the weekend, during which multiple records were set. The two-day, white-glove event, aptly titled Decade One, netted $83 million'the highest total for any watch auction in history. "Every bid, every conversation, and every person who joined us'whether in the room, online, or on the phone'represents a shared passion for watchmaking and a belief in what we do," Alexandre Ghotbi and Tiffany To of Phillips said in a statement. "Over the years, Phillips has grown into much more than an auction platform; it has become a true hub for collectors,…...

3+ week, 2+ day ago (687+ words) I had a crowned head of state text me a week ago and say, "Aurel, it's now the third time I'm going through your catalog. This is the Godzilla of watch auctions," Bacs adds. It didn't sound very elegant, but it sounded as if he found it impressive." With some 200 lots valued at a collective $32 million at their low estimates, the sale, which celebrates the auctioneer's first decade in the watch business, is Phillips's most valuable watch auction ever. But even if it was reduced to a single timepiece'lot 23, to be specific'the result would likely still be impressive. That's because lot 23 is no run-of-the-mill collectible, says Bacs: It is the key lot in the sale. It is the key lot of the season. And it is the key lot of the year." Manufactured by Patek Philippe in 1943, the model is…...

2+ week, 5+ day ago (160+ words) Fresh from holding the most lucrative watch auction in history, Phillips has announced the full catalog for another epic sale." The upcoming New York Watch Auction: XIII, taking place from December 6 to 7, will feature 146 timepieces of exceptional quality, rarity, and provenance." The sale will also include an assortment of rarities from heritage brands such as Rolex, Patek Philippe, and Omega, plus some magnificent creations from the leading independent makers." "This season's offerings reflect the extraordinary creativity and technical mastery of independent watchmakers and established brands, as well as the enduring passion collectors have for horology and the stories behind each timepiece," Paul Boutros and Isabella Proia of Phillips said in a statement." All the auction grails will be on display at"432 Park Ave from December 3 to 5. In the meantime, you can check out the five best lots below." Estimate: In…...

1+ week, 1+ day ago (227+ words) Jeff Goldblum, John Mayer, Kevin Hart, and four other celebs flaunted stylish watches on the streets this week. DJ Khaled took watch flexing to a whole new level this week, pulling out a Louis Vuitton case full of his iced-out timepieces on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon while also wearing a diamond-encrusted Patek Philippe that can command as much as $1.1 million on the secondary market. Fallon was sporting a beauty, too, pulling up his sleeve to reveal a gorgeous limited-edition Cartier Santos-Dumont with a green malachite dial. Interestingly, the internet seemed to favor Fallon's comparatively restrained piece. "Jimmy's Cartier actually stole the watch flexing showdown," one person wrote on Instagram. "The refinement of Jimmy's piece outranks all those monstrosities," another commented on YouTube. In a similar but far less ostentatious vein, John Mayer casually rocked a unique Audemars Piguet…...

2+ week, 1+ day ago (179+ words) Mark Zuckerberg, Miles Teller, Jeff Goldblum, and four other celebs flaunted stylish watches on the streets this week. Mark Zuckerberg and Saint Jhn, as we discovered this week, are both partial to a Ulysse Nardin. The billionaire Meta founder recently wore the dazzling, six-figure Royal Sapphire Ruby on the a16z podcast, while the Guyanese-American rapper showed off the newly released, ultra-light Diver Air at the inaugural Miami Watch Summit. (The Air was named Best Dive Watch in Robb Report's Best of the Best awards this year.) Across the pond, Jeff Goldblum and Jonathan Bailey watched up for the Wicked: For Good premiere in London, with the former sporting Cartier's new extra-large gold Santos-Dumont and the latter rocking one of Omega's timepieces for the Winter Olympics. We also spotted Lucas Bravo with a gorgeous Chinese zodiac-themed Chopard, Miles Teller with a solid-gold…...

6+ day, 7+ hour ago (403+ words) The Jules Jurgensen timepiece belonged to wealthy American businessman Isidor Straus, who died with his wife, Ida, in the sinking of the ocean liner. Of all the first-class finery recovered from the Titanic, one piece now reigns supreme. The Jules Jurgensen timepiece was recovered from the body of Isidor Straus. The Bavaria-born American businessman, politician, and co-owner of Macy's, and his wife, Ida, were among the more than 1,500 people who died when the 883-foot ship struck an iceberg and sank on April 14, 1912. The couple's last moments have been widely documented'they were even depicted in James Cameron's 1997 blockbuster Titanic'as both reportedly refused lifeboats in order to stay together. Ida was invited to board the other women and children, but declined because she wanted to stay with her husband. Sometime thereafter, Isidor was offered a place due to his age, but would…...

3+ week, 6+ day ago (547+ words) The most complicated Audemars Piguet pocket watch in private hands is expected to fetch up to $1 million at a Sotheby's New York auction in December. Collectors looking to transcend the typical Royal Oak chronographs and tourbillons are in luck. The most complicated Audemars Piguet pocket watch in private hands will go under the gavel at Sotheby's New York this December. Affectionately nicknamed Grosse Pi'ce, or "Big Piece" in English, No. 16869 features a huge 80 mm yellow-gold case that houses no less than 18 remarkable complications. It is expected to sell for between $500,000 and $1 million at the upcoming sale, giving the Big Piece an even bigger place in horological history. Commissioned in 1914 by Smith & Sons of London on behalf of a South American client, the double-dialed and double-open-faced minute-repeating astronomical watch took some six years to complete. It features a one-minute tourbillon, a…...

3+ week, 1+ day ago (268+ words) The history of Breguet is the history of the kings," says Breguet, the founder's descendant and the company's vice president, head of patrimony. It's a history of Europe. It's a history of revolutions, of political and foreign relations. It is a history of watchmaking in France, in England, in Switzerland. It's everything. It's a history with a big H." The history of Breguet is the history of the kings. It's a history of Europe. It's history with a big H. Heritage directors in the field of luxury, at least watches, have quite a lot of experience before," says Selmoni, because it's not something that you can learn on the job. I'm thinking about Pierre Rainero at Cartier, for example'I would say he's a guy a bit like me." The Collectibles was hardly the first in-house vintage program. Cartier established Cartier Tradition in…...

3+ week, 1+ day ago (169+ words) Lionel Messi, Tom Brady, A$AP Rocky, and four other celebs flaunted stylish watches on the streets this week. Tom Brady and A$AP Rocky couldn't be more opposite, but evidently, they both like Patek Philippes. We spotted both gents wearing the Swiss watchmaker's pieces around New York City on Monday. Brady showed off a diamond-encrusted Nautilus at the Alex Vs ARod premiere, while Rocky rocked a vintage gold Neptune at the CFDA Fashion Awards. Mark Ronson was also at the awards, but opted for Audemars Piguet over Patek. They weren't the only gents who watched up this week. Dwayne Johnson sported a striking Chopard Alpine Eagle at an event in L.A., Jonathan Bailey donned a chic Omega De Ville Prestige for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Leonardo DiCaprio wore his trusty Rolex Land-Dweller courtside at a Lakers game, and…...

3+ week, 6+ day ago (308+ words) The name of the independent Swiss watchmaker David Candaux's technically and aesthetically ambitious new timepiece, the DC12 MaveriK, says it all. The watch is an homage to the 19th-century Texan rancher Samuel A. Maverick, whose refusal to brand his cattle made his name shorthand for an independent thinker who doesn't follow the herd. Introduced last month at an event at the Horological Society of New York, it features a hand-wound movement equipped with a double balance and boasts three patents'all encased in titanium. The latest in the watchmaker's DC series, which began with the DC1, introduced in 2017, and continued with the DC6, the DC12 (the numbering system is designed around multiples of six, Candaux's favorite number) marks a departure from the earlier two models, which were both tourbillons. In addition to a patent on the double regulator mounted on the seconds train, the watch also…...