GENEVA.- Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo, the world’s leading watch auction house, is proud to announce a historical and record-breaking sale, which realised a total of CHF 27.5 million. The sale’s top lot, the Patek Philippe reference 1518 in stainless steel, established a new World Record for any wristwatch at auction. The Geneva Watch Auction: FOUR, on 12 and 13 November, saw collectors from across the globe competing for the world’s finest collectible timepieces. The unprecedented “trilogy” of Patek Philippe 1518s sold for a combined total of over CHF 13 million, including the stainless steel example with its world record price of CHF 11,002,000, pink gold example for CHF 1,474,000 and yellow gold example for CHF 598,000. The sale had huge international reach as we saw global participation from buyers across six continents, reflecting the global appeal of this important collecting genre. The Phillips international team of Watch specialists brought together a world-class group of collectors’ wrist and pocket watches of the highest quality in terms of condition, rarity and provenance. A total of 177 watches realised CHF 27,513,625 /$27,788,761 /€25,587,671 against a pre-sale estimate of CHF 12.5 to 23.8 million, selling 93% by lot and 97% by value.

The Legendary Patek Philippe Reference 1518 – one of the world’s most important watches – captivated the saleroom and ignited a bidding war of 13 minutes, eventually selling for CHF 11 million. One of only four examples known, this extremely rare Patek Philippe perpetual calendar chronograph wristwatch with moon phase made in 1943, more than tripled its pre-sale estimate and established a new world record for any wristwatch at auction.

Aurel Bacs, Senior Consultant, said: “It was a privilege for me to offer the stainless steel Patek Philippe reference 1518. It was breath-taking to stand in front of a packed saleroom with over 400 people and another 500 passionate watch enthusiasts from around the world following the auction online or over the phones – it was simply electric. Its world record result is a strong testimony that the watch market is universally accepted as an important pillar of the international art collector community, and that Phillips’ strategy focusing on watches of the finest quality is the winning formula.”

Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo will present “Rolex Milestones: 38 Legendary Watches That Shaped History”, in Hong Kong on 28 November 2016. This thematic evening sale will be followed by Hong Kong Watch Auction: THREE on 29 November 2016.