- The 10 most expensive watches sold at Christie’s this year ranged in price from $566,000 to $3.2 million.
- The auction house also celebrated 25 consecutive years as the leading jewelry auction market in 2018.
- Topping this list, a rare Patek Philippe wristwatch sold for a whopping $3,234,905 at Christie’s.
In a time when smartphones reign supreme, it’s fascinating to find that there are still people willing to pay a pretty penny for a good old-fashioned watch.
Whether they simply value the old way of telling time or are looking for a way to display their style on their wrist, watch buyers were willing to drop some serious cash with Christie’s this year.
In 2018, the auction house said it made $492.3 million in total jewelry sales ($484.5 million in live auction and $7.8 million online). The sales total earned Christie's its 25th consecutive year as the leading jewelry auction market. It also saw a new record being set with a bottle of Macallan 60 Year Old selling for a whopping $1.5 million (incidentally, that bottle broke the record set by another bottle of Macallan 60 Year Old, which had sold for $1.1 million just two months prior).
Here are the top 10 most expensive watches sold by Christie's in 2018, ranked from least to most expensive.
10. Designed and signed by Richard Mille, this rare platinum and baguette-cut, diamond-set tourbillon wristwatch sold for a cool $566,014.
Source: Christie's
9. A unique Patek Philippe chronograph wristwatch, 18k white gold and diamond-set with a degradé black dial, brought in $614,766.
Source: Christie's
8. This Patek Philippe 18K gold perpetual calendar chronograph watch with moon phases and a tachymeter scale sold for $668,862.
Source: Christie's
7. Made in 1930, this 18K gold cushion-shaped Patek Philippe wristwatch sold for $708,500.
Source: Christie's
6. A truly timeless design, this 1969 stainless steel chronograph Rolex wristwatch with a Paul Newman mark went for $732,500.
Source: Christie's
5. Stacked with impressive features like a minute-repeating instantaneous perpetual calendar, leap year indication, day and night display modes, and moon phases, it's no wonder this platinum Patek Philippe auctioned for $753,277.
Source: Christie's
4. A fine, 18K gold Patek Philippe perpetual chronograph wristwatch from 1944 auctioned for $912,500.
3. This rare early stainless steel Rolex wristwatch, with a gilt explorer dial, automatic time, and center seconds, sold for $1,068,500.
Source: Christie's
2. An officially certified chronometer, 18K gold Rolex with a triple calendar, star dial, and moon phases, this watch proved to be a big ticket item when it brought in $1,572,500.
Source: Christie's
1. The year's most expensive watch sale at Christie's, an 18K gold Patek Philippe chronograph watch, signed by Philippe and featuring a perpetual calendar and moon phases, went for a whopping $3,234,905.
Source: Christie's