Einstein's Longines Watch Sets Record At Antiquorum Fall Auction

The Antiquorum Fall 2008 auction "Important Collectors Wristwatches, Pocket Watches & Clocks" took place yesterday, marked by feverish Internet bidding and a remarkable sale total of $9,892,812.  After the dust had settled, a number of records had been set, most notable among these being from the sale of a gold Longines wristwatch once owned by celebrated physicist Albert Einstein.

The tonneau-shaped Longines watch, dating from 1931 and engraved with Einstein's name sold for $596,000, a figure which exceeded its pre-sale estimate by a staggering 2,000 percent.  The sale represents a landmark for both Longines and watch auction history in general; it is both the highest price ever realized for a Longines watch, and the highest figure obtained for a simple time-only wristwatch.  

Regarding the Einstein Longines watch sale, Julian Schaerer, Antiquorum USA's Watch Expert & Auctioneer said, "We're delighted to see such an excellent outcome for our first auction of the season. In particular, we're excited by the exceptional result achieved by the Longines wristwatch that belonged to the Time Magazine Man of the Century-the world's most noteworthy physicist, Nobel Prize winning scientist, Albert Einstein."

However, the historic Longines watch was far from the only attention-getting sale of the auction.  The highly anticipated Patek Philippe Ref. 2499 Chronograph Perpetual Calendar from 1956 soared to $1,514,400, setting the highest sale price of the auction.  From Rolex, an Oyster Perpetual Datejust with a diamond dial and a platinum Oyster Perpetual Day-Date sold for record-setting amounts of $72,000, and $78,000, respectively.  Highly complex watches from Vacheron Constantin and Gerald Genta also performed extremely well.  

"The results from today's auction are confirmation that despite the current erratic economic climate, important timepieces continue to be extremely sought after, highly collectible, and sound tangible investments that have consistently proven to appreciate exponentially over time," stated Robert Maron, the newly appointed chairman of Antiquorum.  For a detailed breakdown of the sale and its various lots, click here to view the Antiquorum press release.