The auction’s top lot, a Grande et Petite Sonnerie carrion carriage clock by Breguet, reached $239,000.
A Hong Kong collector purchased “The Tiger Hunt,” circa 1910, by the West End Watch Co., for $39,000.
NEW YORK CITY – Antiquorum opened its fall season today with a strong sale ofCollector’s PocketWatches,Wristwatches and Clocksat the New York Grand Havana Room. The auction totaled $2,032,129; with 70 percent of the lots sold by value.
Osvaldo Patrizzi, the gallery’s chairman, was extremely pleased with the overall results, stating that the sale surpassed all expectations. “There was much concern in the moment preceding the auction, but overall the auction proved that the watch market is stable and that watch collecting provides an excellent alternative to investing.”
Patrizzi also praised the firm’s online interactive bidding system, which facilitated participation from Americans as well as clients worldwide. More than 130 collectors registered to bid online and over 2,000 viewers followed the live auction broadcast from all over the world. Online sales alone totaled more than $171,000.
Strong prices were fetched by Breguet clocks. The sale’s top lot, a rare, silver Grande et Petite Sonnerie carrion carriage clock with alarm and double calendar, sold for $239,000, well above its pre-sale estimate, purchased by a private collector. Other outstanding results were achieved by brands such as Patek Philippe, Rolex, Franck Muller, Parmigiani Fleurier, and Roger Dubuis.
Top lots from this sale included, at $167,500, a Patek Philippe & Cie, Ref. 5029, 1997, self-winding, limited edition, minute-repeating, in 18 karat pink gold with 48 hours autonomy, purchased by a private collector; a Breguet, No. 46, a gilt bronze eight-day going carriage clock with half-quarter repeater, alarm, subsidiary seconds and calendar, purchased by a private collector for $107,000; and a Patek Philippe & Cie, Ref. 1463, 1940s round button chronograph wristwatch in 18 karat yellow gold with register and tachometer, also purchased by a private collector.
