Opinion: Christie’s Important Watches Recap

Christie's Important Watches

Day two of the three most insane consecutive watch auctions of all time was worth the price of admission. I normally listen to Spotify in the background at work, but today, the multi-lingual auctioneering of Christie’s Important Watches was the “music” of choice. Out of the 400-some-odd lots, a number of them made me look away from my spreadsheets and emails. You should take a look at all of the results over at Christie’s, but here are the ones I thought were the most interesting (click on the photos to link to high-res):

 

Universal Geneve 24 Hr Split Seconds

Universal Geneve 24-Hr Split Seconds Chronograph

Lot 112 – Universal Geneve 24-Hour Dial Split Seconds Chronograph

Estimate: $41,305 – $61,958

Realized Price: $70,994

It seems that ever since John Goldberger showed his UG on Hodinkee’s Talking Watches some time ago, we’ve been seeing this reference everywhere. It’s an absolutely fascinating watch, and easily one of the most beautiful military watches out there. While it didn’t crush the estimate like some of the others, $71,000 is a lot more than one would have guessed for a steel Universal Geneve if you’d asked them only a few years ago. Sotheby’s Important Watches has another example of this reference hitting the block today, so it’ll be interesting to see where it lands.

 

Rolex ref 1665 Tiffany Double Red Sea-Dweller

Rolex ref 1665 Tiffany Double Red Sea-Dweller

 Lots 215 through 218 – Tiffany Stamped Rolexes

Four lots in a row showed off Rolexes with Tiffany stampings, and they all killed it, each doubling the estimated ranges. Between a ref 1807 President, a gold ref 1675 GMT, a ref 1016 Explorer I, and a ref 1665 Double Red Sea-Dweller, the Double Red was the most impressive. Normally, a nice Double Red will pull in somewhere in the low $20,000 range, but buyers loved the Tiffany stamp enough to realize a price of $61,958. I’m not sure the extra line on the dial warrants triple the average market price, but hey, it wasn’t my money.

 

Steel, Black Dial Longines

Steel, Black Dial Longines

Lot 254 – 1938 Longines Steel Time-only Watch

Estimate: $3,098 – $5,163

Realized Price: $30,979 (!!!)

One of the anomalies of the day had to be this simple time-only Longines from 1938. Carrying the same caliber 15.26 as the lot before it that went for $7,154, this handsome black-dialed watch inexplicably blew away the low end of the estimate by a factor of 10. Early on, the bidding jumped from about $3,000 to $10,000, seemingly catching auctioneer Thomas Perazzi off guard. I thought for sure it would stall at that point, but the hammer didn’t come down until bidding hit the upper $20,000 range (pre-buyer’s premium).

 

Rolex Submariner ref 6204 "Albino"

Rolex Submariner ref 6204 “Albino”

Lot 234 – Rolex Submariner ref 6204 “Albino” Dial

Estimate: $103,264 – $206,527

Realized Price: Passed

One of the two Rolex watches that various online forums questioned, the “Albino” dial Submariner ref 6204 did not make its reserve price. If I recall correctly, it topped out somewhere in the $80,000 – $90,000 range. I don’t have a reason not to believe in Christie’s authentication process, so I was surprised this didn’t hit the target given how incredibly rare the dial is. Some have speculated white dials were used for prototypes, but at any rate, we’re talking hen’s teeth here. Considering all possibilities, if this was less than genuine, then the buyers should be happy they didn’t overspend. Otherwise, this one should have been primed for a big hammer price.

 

Omega Speedmaster ref CK2915-1

Omega Speedmaster ref CK2915-1

Lot 273 – Omega Speedmaster ref CK2915-1

Estimate: $30,979 – $51,632

Realized Price: $77,448

Early Speedmasters have been increasing in price tremendously, and yesterday’s Lot 273 showed exactly this. The first reference, the CK2915-1, crushed its mid-range estimate by about double, and even rivaled some Newman dial Daytonas. It’s great to see vintage Speedmasters receiving much deserved attention, however, now they’re starting to climb out of reach for mere mortals.

 

Panerai Prototype

Panerai Prototype

Lot 308 – 1985 Panerai Dive Watch Prototype

Estimate: $82,611 – $123,916

Realized Price: $290,171

Next to the Longines discussed above, this was the other major mind-boggling lot of the day. Prototypes are hard to nail down with regard to value, but I’m not sure anyone expected this Panerai to nearly crack $300,000. If you caught this one live, your eyes were probably as big as mine – or as big as the diameter of the huge 48-millimeter case. Cheers to the seller of this watch; drinks are on that fellow.

 

Rolex Daytona ref 6263 ROC Paul Newman

Rolex Daytona ref 6263 ROC Paul Newman Dial

Lot 498 – Rolex Daytona ref 6263 ROC Paul Newman Dial

Estimate: $361,423 – $567,950

Realized Price: $476,046

This was arguably the star of the show. Discussed all over the watch forums, there was a ton of talk about the legitimacy of this reference, as this specific configuration had never been authenticated before. Christie’s worked with Rolex Geneva, as well as several vintage Rolex experts to give this one the “thumbs up”. Still, numerous Vintage Rolex Forums members went back and forth on minute details until they all decided there was no way to know for sure. Many expected this watch to shatter the estimates, but it’s possible the bidders went in cautiously due to the negative talk. I must say, the fact that it landed pretty right in the middle of the estimated range kind of killed the excitement, but it’s still a big sale either way.


I honestly could have brought up a number of other lots, but those were the ones that stuck out the most. Let us know what caught your discerning eyes in the comments section below.

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Shane is one of the founding members of Wound For Life and a contributor to several other publications. A lover of all things mechanical, his true passions lie with watches and adventure. To keep up with the latest from Shane, you can follow him on Twitter (@shanegriffin1) or Instagram (@shanegriffin25). If you'd like to get in touch with Shane, email him at shane@woundforlife.com.

1 Comment

  • November 20, 2014

    Chris

    The Longines has a treasure map etched into the caseback. That’s the only possible explanation.

    As far as the rest of this, I can’t help but wonder if we’re seeing a peak. A UG chrono going for over $70K? High five-figure Rolexes becoming troublingly common. $77K for a 2915 Speedmaster? Only a few years ago a 2915-2 with box and papers moved at $29.5K. I have a hard time believing there are that many Baby Boomers/older Gen Xers with scads of cash looking to buy the watch their dad had (were it that Dad was Steve McQueen or Paul Newman).