Patek Philippe, Panerai, And Rolex Achieve Excellent Results At Antiquorum's December 2008 Auction

Timepieces from Patek Philippe, Officine Panerai, and Rolex all achieved excellent results at Antiquorum's end-of-the-season "Important Collectors' Wristwatches, Pocket Watches" sale in New York City.  In all, the auction comprised 542 lots.  According to Antiquorum, seventy-five percent of the lots sold, resulting in a sale total of $7.28 million.  The most active bidding came from Japan, with additional strong participation coming from Taiwan, Finland, and Germany.

Star of the Patek Philippe watches was Lot 538, a platinum example of Ref. 5016--a watch that combines a perpetual calendar with moon phases and retrograde date with a tourbillon and minute repeater; it sold for $660,000. Also performing extremely well was a Ref. 5013 Minute Repeater Perpetual Calendar and a Ref. 5004R Split-Seconds Chronograph Perpetual Calendar, which sold for $468,000 and $360,000, respectively.  Patek Philippe's Ref. 3970, which was offered in several metals, also achieved good results, particularly the platinum version, which found a buyer at $132,000.  A "T150" Annual Calendar watch--a model created by Patek Philippe to celebrate a 150-year relationship with Tiffany & Co--attained a sale price of $38,400.

The desirability of Officine Panerai was confirmed by notable results for two rare timepieces.  A "White Gold Zerograph" from Officine Panerai sold for $33,600 and a "White Gold Seconds Counter" attained $26,400.  Historic Rolex sports watches attained excellent auction results.  An Oyster Perpetual "Double Red" Sea-Dweller watch sold for $38,400 and a Ref. 6262 "Paul Newman" Cosmograph Daytona hit $76,800--confirming the great desirability of this Rolex chronograph.  An unusual modern Rolex watch--a Ref. 16600 Oyster Perpetual Sea-Dweller 4000 customized by Pro-Hunter in black PVD finish--attained the impressive sales price of $30,000.  

Regarding the outcome of the auction, Antiquorum president and CEO Evan Zimmerman stated: "Today’s exceptional results are indicative of the sustained strength of the watch market, proving collectors worldwide are turning to watches for secure investments as other markets drastically fluctuate."