Tag: Greubel Forsey

Block Party: Auction houses are rejoicing as watch collectors seek the purchase of a lifetime

As the clock ticks down to the end of 2025, this year and the last have proved instrumental in the world of haute horology. Auction houses in New York, Geneva and Hong Kong have witnessed record-breaking bids for timepieces that transcend function, presenting instead as creations of wearable art, mechanical genius and historical import. For collectors, these aspirational acquisitions represent the pinnacle of craftsmanship and rarity, and each has a story as intricate as its movement.

Just last month, the hammer fell at Phillips in Geneva on a steel Patek Philippe Ref. 1518 for an eye-opening US$17.6 million (HK$137 million). Manufactured in 1943 and widely thought to be the first of this model made in steel, the treasure entered the record books as the most expensive vintage Patek wristwatch ever sold. For those keeping stock, the highest auction-price paid for a vintage wristwatch is claimed by a Rolex Cosmograph Daytona Ref. 6239  – the personal timepiece of iconic actor and racing driver Paul Newman went for US$17.8 million in 2017.

Priceless Patek

The all-time best-selling list at watch auctions, meanwhile, is topped by a very special Patek Philippe; the multi-complication Grandmaster Chime Ref. 6300A-010 raised US$31.19 million for charity at the Only Watch auction in Geneva six years ago. While not attaining such lofty heights, a Ref. 6300G-010 Grandmaster Chime made headlines in June 2024 when it changed hands for US$5.4 million. The appeal of this highly collectible timepiece was undoubtedly boosted by film legend Sylvester Stallone, who had put it up for auction. Never having been worn, it was sold in a presentation box engraved with the actor’s name.

Stallone has an affinity for Patek Philippe. Two 5711 Nautilus models also featured in last year’s dedicated Sotheby’s sale, including a limited-edition Ref. 5711/1300A-001, in olive green with a baguette diamond-set bezel, which had been released as a farewell to Patek’s 5711 steel series.

Vintage Patek Philippe watches certainly excited collectors this year. The only known Ref. 3448 in 18-carat pink gold fetched CHF 2.7 million (about US$3.4 million) in May at a Phillips auction in Geneva. The world’s first automatic perpetual calendar wristwatch to be serially produced, this reference has been beloved for decades, and almost all examples are cased in yellow or white gold. To round out the Patek auction roll call, a Ref. 2499 ‘Second Series’ sold for US$4.3 million at Sotheby’s in June. This particular pink-gold perpetual calendar chronograph wristwatch with moon phases dated back to 1957.

Driving Records

The Rolex Cosmograph Daytona ‘Lemon Dial’ variant is one of the rarest configurations of the Paul Newman series. Known for its exotic dial layout and Art Deco numerals, it is a collector’s dream, especially since the vintage market for the brand continues to soar. In November 2022, the rarer 6263 model garnered US$3.4 million at Christie’s, racing ahead to become the second highest-selling lemon-dial Daytona. Two years later, a 6264 variant from 1970 sold at Phillips Hong Kong for US$2.8 million, becoming the most valuable 6264 to date.

History unfolded in Geneva in November last year when the second-ever watch made by François-Paul Journe went under the hammer at Phillips for US$8.4 million. The Tourbillon Souverain à Remontoire d’Egalité heralded the launch of the F.P. Journe brand in 1999. This prototype tourbillon in platinum, with rhodium-plated brass movement and early design cues, is a cornerstone of independent watchmaking.

Rare Beauties

A Richard Mille RM 56-02 Sapphire Tourbillon watch was sold at Christie’s New York in June last year for US$3.02 million. Crafted entirely from sapphire crystal and boasting a cable-suspended movement and ultra-light construction, this limited-edition luxury timepiece offers full transparency. Released in 2014 and one of just 10 pieces worldwide, the model’s rarity is matched only by its technical audacity.

Gérald Genta’s personal 1978 Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Jumbo Ref. 5402, a one-of-a-kind collectible, achieved a hammer price of CHF 2,107,000 (US$2.6 million) at Sotheby’s in May 2022. Designed by Genta in 1972, the 5402 is considered the blueprint for modern luxury sports watches.

Sold in Hong Kong

Combining a tourbillon, chronograph and fusée-and-chain transmission, the A. Lange & Söhne Tourbograph Perpetual Pour le Mérite is a technical tour de force. This 2017 limited-edition release reflects Lange’s commitment to precision and artistry. An iteration in platinum was auctioned in Hong Kong in May 2022 for HK$2.9 million (about US$386,000).

Greubel Forsey works on a strictly limited philosophy. The rarity of its hand-worked watches – like the Quadruple Tourbillon which uses two double tourbillons to enhance timekeeping accuracy – is compounded by the brand’s exclusivity, which in turn fuels desirability among collectors and impressive auction results. A Quadruple Tourbillon à Différentiel Sphérique with power reserve indication circa 2021 became a Christmas present for one lucky collector last December when Sotheby’s Hong Kong listed it at a high estimate of HK$2.5 million. 

Pulse of the Market

Whether it’s a prototype, a celebrity-owned piece or a limited-edition complication, scarcity drives value at auction. Design matters, too – not just aesthetics, but innovation. Collectors are no longer satisfied with tradition alone; they want watches that challenge convention.

Provenance plays a growing role. A watch with a story – be it tied to an icon or horological history – adds emotional and cultural weight. These aren’t just timekeepers; they are narratives on the wrist. And finally the rise of independent watchmakers like F.P. Journe and Greubel reflects a shift toward individuality and craftsmanship over mass prestige.

Over the past few years, the auction world has made one thing clear: the value of time is rising not just in dollars, but in meaning. The watches that ignite collectors’ frenzy at auction – each a marvel of design and rarity – remind us that time is not only measured. It’s crafted, collected and cherished.

Chiming Watches: Ring in the New Year with these chiming timepieces

Elizabeth-Doerr-recommends-some-Chiming-Watches

Elizabeth Doerr, co-founder of Quill & Pad, presents seven new chiming watches you’ll want to flaunt in 2018.    

Chiming watches evolved from a need to know the time at all hours – even when the sun doesn’t shine. Super-LumiNova wasn’t around in the Middle Ages, so, without any way for townsfolk to see the clock tower at night, the hand struck a bell to signify the hour.

The idea was later adapted to portable timekeepers after the balance spring was invented. More often than not, a slide in the case band is used to wind and activate the repeating mechanism. One such kind, a minute repeater, chimes out the hours, quarter-hours and minutes, with the strikes differentiated by hammers and gongs that ring in unique or even double (ding-dong) tones.

Chiming Watches: Ulysses Nardin Hourstriker Pin-Up

In addition to being among the rarest luxury timepieces, wristwatches with striking complications are among the hardest to manufacture. As Ulysse Nardin’s late owner, Rolf Schnyder, once said, “The real challenge is the sound quality. Despite significant advances in technology today, minute repeaters cannot be industrialised, and a minute repeater is as much a musical instrument as it is a timekeeper.”

He would likely be proud of the Swiss brand’s Hourstriker Pin-Up. The hand-painted dial depicts a burlesque dancer who cheekily reveals glimpses of herself when the hammer strikes the gong on the hour and half-hour. The “hourstriker” was known in the 16th-century as the clock-watch, and it struck the hours with a single blow “in passing” (en passant) without having to activate a slide or push a button. Available in a 43mm pink gold or platinum case, the timepiece is limited to just 28 pieces.

Chopard’s L.U.C. Full Strike a great example of chiming minute repeaters

One of the more striking watches to hit the market is Chopard’s L.U.C. Full Strike, which just won the prestigious Aiguille d’Or award from the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève. The Chopard oeuvre – created to celebrate 20 years of the L.U.C. line – has an impressive claim to fame: its gongs are made of sapphire crystal. Housed in a 42.5mm 18-carat fair-mined pink gold case, the timepiece is also stamped with the prestigious Seal of Geneva.

Knowledgeable watch connoisseurs, meanwhile, have long dreamt of owning Greubel Forsey’s Grande Sonnerie. The watch is coveted for its sonorous cathedral chimes housed within an 855-piece movement which includes a patented 25-degree inclined 24-second tourbillon.

A Chiming Example: Greubel Forsey’s Grande Sonnerie

The Grande Sonnerie boasts a platinum mini rotor for automatically winding the chiming function; serially operating fast-rotating barrels; and a security system for disengaging the strike mechanism if the crown is pulled out during the chime (something that would immediately break any other chiming watch). It is housed in a 43.5mm white gold asymmetrical case that includes a side window to allow a full view of the tourbillon.

For a watch that will get you noticed, Audemars Piguet’s groundbreaking Supersonnerie is the loudest minute repeater on the market right now. Its makers concentrated on improving existing theories and practices, but added one fundamental difference: a soundboard to allow the gong’s sound vibrations to extend beyond the case. This 44mm manually wound titanium timepiece comes with a chronograph function and one-minute tourbillon, and is available only in limited editions, including a new platinum edition with a blue dial.

Audemars Piguet Supersonnerie is the loudest chiming watch

Hopping across the border from Switzerland to Germany, A. Lange & Söhne’s first repeating wristwatch, the Zeitwerk Minute Repeater, was an instant classic. A far more intuitive system than a normal minute repeater, it chimes the time in units of 10 rather than 15, the same way we read it off on a conventional analogue clock. The gong and hammers placed on the front of the watch allow the wearer (and inevitable admirers) to see something truly rare: the repeater at work.

Panerai's Radiomir 1940 Minute Repeater Carillon is capable of chiming both local and a second time zone

Another worthy investment, Panerai’s 49mm red or white gold oeuvre not only offers sweet-sounding chimes, but also two special features. For starters, the Radiomir 1940 Minute Repeater Carillon GMT PAM00600 is capable of chiming both local and a second time zone. Like the Zeitwerk, it’s also a decimal repeater – the fifth of its kind in history. Its manually wound Caliber P.2005/MR boasts a one-minute tourbillon and a 96-hour power reserve.

The equally ambitious Traditionnelle Minute Repeater Tourbillon from Vacheron Constantin would be a “simple” traditional minute repeater if it weren’t for the one-minute tourbillon performing gravity-defying revolutions within the manually wound Caliber 2755 TMR. Beautifully understated in 44mm pink gold or platinum, the watch’s musical notes can be activated by the slide on the left side of the case.

Chiming Watches Vacheron Constantin

Telling time by ear is an underappreciated art, but certainly not a lost one. For the lover of history or the watch aficionado, a minute repeater would make the perfect gift. After all, there’s no time – or chime – like the present.

Text: Elizabeth Doerr