Time Flies At Antiquorum Wristwatch Sale

NEW YORK CITY

:Antiquorum New York closed its spring season with a sale at the Essex House hotel totaling an impressive $4,274,449 for its auction of important collector's wristwatches, pocket watches and clocks. There was intense competition among collectors worldwide, contributing to the impressive result of 112 percent by value and 84 percent by lot.

Furthermore, there were more than 250 registered online bidders as well as the more traditional tele-phone, room and commission bidders. Strong international interest came from countries such as China, Norway, Russia, Israel, as well as from North America.

"Such astounding interest in our June 15 New York auction confirms Antiquorum's position as the market leader," said Osvaldo Patrizzi, chairman and founder of Antiquorum Auctioneers.

Fervor in the market resulted in enthusiastic bidding for modern complicated wristwatches. The top lots of the sale were a Breguet 250th anniversary piece and a Patek Philippe Ref 5013, which each fetched $417,500.

The "1747-1997 Breguet 250th Anniversary" watch made in 1997 to commemorate the 250th anniver-sary of the birth of Abraham Louis Breguet (1747-1823) was an extremely fine and rare, minute re-peating platinum gentleman's wristwatch with visible one-minute tourbillon regulator, jump hours, perpetual calendar with retrograde date and leap-year indication. Made in 1994, the Patek Philippe Ref 5013 was an astronomical, minute repeating, self-winding, tonneau-shaped, 18K pink gold gentleman's wristwatch with perpetual calendar and moon phases, retrograde date and leap year display.

Another watch brand that did extremely well in the sale was Rolex, as evidenced by a patent pending Sea-Dweller from 1967, which fetched $29,900. Lange & Sohne watches were also very much in de-mand with Pour le Merite selling for $203,000. Produced in a limited edition of 50 examples in the 1990s, the extremely fine and rare, platinum gentleman's wristwatch featured one-minute tourbillon regulator and 36-hour power reserve.

Rounding out the sale's top ten lots were: fourth series Patek Philippe, Ref 2499, 18K yellow gold gen-tleman's wristwatch made in the 1960s, $236,000; Patek Philippe, Ref 1518, first series 18K yellow gold gentleman's wristwatch, made in the 1940s, $175,500; Ref 3450, third series, Roman Patek Philippe 18K yellow gold gentleman's wristwatch, manufactured in 1984, $126,000; Lange 1 Tourbillon plati-num gentleman's wristwatch, made in a limited edition of 250 examples in 18K pink gold and 150 in platinum, $120,500; Ref 3448, second series Patek Philippe 18K yellow gold gentleman's wristwatch, manufactured in 1970, sold on June 1, 1970, $103,500; Roger Dubuis, horloger genevois, Minute Re-peater, no. 06/09, 18K pink gold gentleman's wristwatch produced in a limited edition of nine examples, circa 2000, $92,000; and Wempe Patek Philippe Ref 5125, no. 59/100 platinum gentleman's wristwatch with semi-instantaneous digital triple date annual calendar, produced in a limited edition of 100 exam-ples in 2003 to commemorate the 125th anniversary of Wempe, $78,200.

Prices reported include buyer's premium.

Antiquorum's next auction is set for July 9-10 in Hong Kong at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, 3 Connaught Road. For information, 212-750-1103 or www.antiquorum.com.