Christie’s To Auction 128 Rare Patek Philippe Watches From A Private Collector

Christie’s is promoting an epic assortment of 128 Patek Philippe watches in Might, spreading them over three separate auctions: Geneva on Might 9, Hong Kong on Might 24 and New York on June 8. Keith Davis, Christie’s head of watches for America, says the New York sale is anticipated to set a brand new public sale report for Christie’s in that location. The consignor of what’s dubbed the “Kairos Assortment” amassed the assortment of uncommon Patek Philippes over a interval of 35 years, with what Christie’s describes as “devoted focus, educated curation, and private imaginative and prescient.” The title Kairos alludes to a perception held in historic Greece that there have been two sides to the idea of time: chronos and kairos. Chronos refers to all time and timekeeping. Kairos refers to opportune, auspicious, treasured time. As Christie’s places it: “Chronos is quantitative, Kairos qualitative.” The items within the sale are dated from 2005 to 2021.

Christie’s separated the gathering into three gross sales “as a result of we needed to unfold it out throughout the worldwide market, says Davis. “These watches are usually not essentially area of interest, like some artwork deco examples or some difficult pocket watches, which could be market-specific. They’re all are so universally in demand that we needed to unfold them out throughout markets, main as much as the finale in New York Metropolis, which represents the vast majority of the worth.”

The 30 tons to be offered in Geneva embody a Ref. 5959R-001 split-seconds chronograph (140,000-230,000 CHF), certainly one of a 15 items ever made, this one retailed Tiffany & Co. There’s additionally a Ref. 5074R-001 cathedral minute repeater perpetual calendar in rose gold with a black dial (CHF 330,000-510,000) that was additionally offered by Tiffany. The collector owned lots of the references in a number of metals: for instance there are 4 ref. 5270 perpetual calendar chronographs, in yellow gold, pink gold and two in white gold, ranging in estimates from 75,000 to 190,000 (CHF), and a trio of annual calendar flyback reference 5960s, two in platinum and one in pink gold, with estimates ranging between 38,000 and 58,000 (CHF). Outdoors the Kairos assortment, the Geneva sale additionally contains 45 Rolexes, together with a number of Daytona fashions.

Highlights of the 30 Kairos items within the Hong Kong sale embody a Ref. 5951P-012 a tonneau-shaped platinum perpetual calendar split-seconds chronograph (HKD 1,600,000-3,200,000); and a Ref. 5078R-001 basic rose gold minute repeater with Roman numerals and a small seconds indicator on an enamel dial ( HKD 1,450,000-3,000,000).

The Kairos sale finale within the June 8 New York sale contains 68 items that characterize the vast majority of the Kairos assortment worth. They’ll be on exhibit from June 3-8, divided into classes: perpetual calendar chronographs, break up chronographs, métiers d’artwork items, world time references and issues. Amongst them are 9 double-signed Tiffany & Co. items. Highlights embody:

– Ref. 57401G-001 Nautilus perpetual calendar, double signed Tiffany & Co. ($200,000-$400,000).

– Ref. 5372P-010 perpetual calendar split-seconds chronograph in platinum with a salmon dial ($200,000-400,000).

– Ref. 59501A-010, a split-seconds chronograph in metal with a blue dial ( $300,000-500,000).

– Ref. 5531R-012 world time minute repeater with a cloisonné enamel dial depicting the Lavaux vineyards on the shores of Lake Geneva ($1,000,000-2,000,000).

So why is the collector parting with them (or most of them)? “Loads of the enjoyment in accumulating is available in constructing he assortment,” says Davis. “After you have it, it comes with an enormous accountability. I feel everybody will get to a stage the place they’ve amassed a set, whether or not or not it’s artwork or numismatics, or no matter, the place they understand that, okay, I’ve mastered what I’ve come to grasp. We’re seeing this lots. There are lots of giant collections popping out of the woodwork proper now, as a result of persons are altering path or pursuits, or wanting to use the beneficial properties from it in different instructions.”

Outdoors the Kairos assortment, New York sale contains a number of sought-after items from different manufacturers, together with some rarities. For instance, there’s a Rolex “Oyster Sotto,” a Ref. 6263 Daytona with a Paul Newman dial that varies from others in that the phrase “Oyster” seems below the phrase “Cosmograph” as an alternative of above – it’s a element that drives collectors wild, particularly since fewer than two dozen had been ever made. Items from the Kairos assortment might be on show on the following areas:

Now till Might 11 New York

Might 6-8 Geneva

Might 13-16 Dubai

Might 15-18 Hong Kong

Might 21-24 Hong Kong

Might 24-26 San Francisco

June 3-7 New York