A Patek Phillippe watch broke records for the highest price of a wristwatch in an auction. The wristwatch was sold for 31 million US dollars or Rs 2,21,78,64,000 by at a charity sale run in Geneva. The watch went under the hammer in a packed room of more than 300 people vying for it which resulted in a five-minute-long bidding war.
The steel Grandmaster Chime reference 6300A beat the record set by a Daytona Rolex watch previously owned by Paul Newman. The watch had been sold in 2017 for 17.8 million dollars.
Also Read | Cruise tourism: India clocks four-fold jump in last two years
The Patek Phillippe watch is highly detailed. It boasts of 20 special features and has two dials (one on the back). It got sold in Only Watch, an event in which offers are made for one unique timepiece by watchmakers. It is held for raising money for Duchenne muscular dystrophy research. Eric Wind, a watch dealer who had worked for Christie’s before, described the atmosphere of the room during the auction saying that when the auction hit 18 million dollars there was an excitement in the room. He concurred that people were already expecting that result. The crowd got excited as the numbers kept going up in the bids for the watch. Rahul Kakadia, Christie’s international head of jewellery, was behind the podium as the watch got sold for a record-breaking 31 million dollars or over Rs 221 crore, calling the auction a once in a lifetime event.
In recent years, record auction prices of watches have only accelerated. For example, in 2010, the highest selling price of the watch was 5.7 million dollars. In 2005 Luc Pettavino founded Only Watch. He was previously with Monaco Yacht Show as its chief executive officer. He started this in the memory of his son who died of muscular dystrophy.
On Monday, Christie’s is holding its annual watch auction in Geneva. They will have a rare 1950s Patek watch on offer at Hong Kong at the end of this month. The watch is estimated to be of 14 million dollar