NEW YORK, NY.- Phillips announced the appointment of prominent watch specialist Thomas Perazzi as Head of Watches, Asia. Mr. Perazzi will lead the Asian watch team from Phillips’ offices in Hong Kong.

As Head of Watches, Asia, Mr. Perazzi will be responsible for securing consignments and selling Phillips’ watches with an emphasis on strengthening Phillips’ active client base and developing a network of top collectors across Asia.

Mr. Perazzi joins Phillips from Christie’s, where he was Head of the European Watch Department based in Geneva, spearheading many groundbreaking sales of important watches. As the main international auctioneer, he was in charge of organizing sales in Geneva. Before joining Christie’s, he served as Deputy Director of the European market for Sotheby’s and Head of the Italian Watch Department for Antiquorum.

In addition to Mr. Perazzi’s appointment, Phillips named Ho Zi Yong as a Watch Specialist in Hong Kong. Mr. Ho comes to Phillips from Christie’s Hong Kong office, where he was an Associate Specialist, coordinating all sales activity, cataloging property and researching watches. Prior to Christie’s, he was a Specialist Trainee at Sotheby’s.

“We are extremely pleased that Thomas and Zi Yong are joining our team,” Edward Dolman, Chief Executive Officer of Phillips, and Aurel Bacs, Senior Consultant of Bacs & Russo, said jointly. “Thomas has pushed the boundaries of watch collecting, expanding the awareness of the watch market to a vast network of established and emerging collectors. He has built his career on forming long-term relationships with many of the watch collecting elite and will be an important advisor to collectors, especially in Asia. We welcome Thomas and Zi Yong and look forward to future successes with them and the entire watch team as we strive to set the highest possible standards in this very important category.”

From Hong Kong, Mr. Perazzi will work closely with the existing international team of watch specialists, and with Aurel Bacs and Livia Russo, who continue to work exclusively with the department as Senior Consultants. Following the extraordinary October watch sale in New York, which included Paul Newman’s Rolex Daytona that sold for a world-record $17.8 million, and our strong sales in Geneva, the global team of experts aims to lead the market and the ever-increasing demand for the highest quality timepieces. Mr. Perazzi is already collaborating on the contents of the November auction in Hong Kong, where Phillips is set to hold its next series of auctions of 20th Century & Contemporary Art & Design, Watches and Jewellery, representing the latest stage of the company’s strategic growth in the region.