Independent Brands at the Phillips New York Watch Auction June 11-12, 2022
This weekend has been a very exciting one for me. First, on Friday, the Golden State Warriors beat Boston Celtics 107-97 to even the series 2-2 in the NBA finals. Then, for both Saturday and Sunday, I got up early to watch live the Phillips New York Watch Auction June 11-12, 2022.
There were 163 lots in this auction over 2 days and my attention was on the independent brands. Aurel Bacs, the master of watch auctions, invented a new term, "the WhatsApp bidder". They texted rather than calling in to the auction. It was enjoyable and entertaining to watch Aurel, Clara and the team put on the engaging show. The results were fantastic with new highs reached for many watches. These lots have been meticulously researched and curated by the top experts. The brands and watches selected and how they fared offered intriguing insights.
First, let's see what independent brands have been included in this auction.
List of independent brands with the numbers of watches from each of them:
F.P. Journe: 15
De Bethune: 3
H. Moser & Cie: 2
Urban Jürgensen: 2
MB&F: 1
Greubel Forsey: 1
Grönefeld: 1
George Daniels: 1
Konstantin Chaykin: 1
Roger Smith: 1
It was not a surprise that F.P. Journe took the top spot. But it was quite remarkable that 15 pieces of them were present this time. For comparison, there were 11 timepieces from Audemars Piguet and 7 from Cartier. F.P. Journe's position as the number one indie brand has been demonstrated once more.
The selection here echoed the findings in "Which brands might be the next F.P. Journe?". The top five brands were De Bethune, MB&F, H. Moser, Greubel Forsey and Kari Voutilainen based on a 6-factor scores. Note that Urban Jürgensen is part of Kari Voutilainen now.
Next, we may see which indie watches achieved the highest prices in this auction. We will limit three entries only from F.P. Journe here, such that we may see more brands in the list.
Top 10 lots based on final prices
George Daniels (lot 12): $2,389,500
FPJ Chronomètre Souverain (lot 115): $1,482,000
FPJ Tourbillon Souverain (lot 116): $1,361,000
FPJ Tourbillon Souverain (lot 10): $1,240,000
Roger Smith Series 2 Open Dial (lot 11): $840,700
Greubel Forsey Double Tourbillon (lot 137): $315,000
Grönefeld Decennium Tourbillon (lot 134): $201,600
De Bethune DB28TIS8NLE (lot 159): $166,320
MB&F Legacy Machine Two (lot 158): $151,200
De Bethune DB27 V2 (lot 8): $138,600
These were super impressive results, smashing the high-end ranges of the estimates in all cases. A lot of new records have been set for the watches and even for the watchmakers. The interests in timepieces from the top independent watchmakers have remained strong and continued to grow.
We may examine some of the lots in more detail next. it was super wonderful that two of them were covered in this newsletter before.
The most amusing result was that of a very special F.P. Journe Chronomètre Souverain. This model is F.P. Journe's entry level model and even today's retail price is around $30K. In an auction exactly one year ago, this piece was sold at $418K. The same piece appeared at this auction and fetched $1.2M hammer price ($1,482,000 total price). More than 3 times of price increase in one year! This watch was the gift that Mr. F.P. Journe gave to his mentor Mr. George Daniel. You may get the whole story from my previous article in this newsletter. "A Visual Chronicle of F.P. Journe Chronomètre Souverain Family 2005 - 2020".
Another very rare piece first time coming up for auction was the De Bethune DB-27 Titan Hawk v2 in salmon dial. De Bethune only makes 160-200 watches yearly. There were about 60 DB-27 v1 made from 2012 to 2018. The number of DB-27 v2 produced from 2018 to now could be 30-40. There were five pieces of Titan Hawk v2 in salmon dial produced. The piece in the auction has number 000. This was not a prototype piece as the number would usually indicates. It is a production piece with a warranty card dated March 3rd, 2021. The original sequence should be 004 and it was changed to 000. We may only guess but 4 is a unlucky number in some Asian cultures.
In any case, the final price was an incrediable $138,600, more than double the high-end of the estimate. The winner was a bidder from Hong Kong. The DB-27 Titan Hawk is De Bethune's entry level model line. The production is quite limited and these pieces are absolute unobtainium now. To learn more about this facininating model line, please check this out. "A Visual Chronicle of De Bethune DB-27 Titan Hawk 2012 - 2021".
As the top 10 list shows, the rare timepieces from two most famous British independent watchmakers stole the limelight. It was a treat to see a piece by George Daniels, one of 47 from the famous Anniversary series. George Daniels wanted the Anniversary model to be a celebration of his life’s work. This piece is indeed a wonderful representation of the best in handmade, traditional English watchmaking. A record breaking final price of $2,389,500 was reached.
It is double-blessing for watch lovers to witness a watch by Roger Smith to be auctioned off, side by side with his mentor, George Daniels. The Roger Smith Series 2 Open Dial was completed in early 2018, after an order placed in 2015. It is one of twelve across all metal cases. Seeing this precious timepiece, front and back, the world came to mind was “whimsical”. The final price of $840,700 set a new auction record for Roger Smith timepieces.
Another exceptional timepiece is the limited edition double tourbillon from Greubel Forsey.
Finally, a few more exquisite timepieces from today’ top indie watchmakers.
Congratulations to the Phillips team for another remarkable watch auction! Thanks for the awesome job in promoting the independent watchmaking and showcasing the superstars who excel at creating the mechanical arts.