Christies Watches Geneva achieves CHF55 million | US$62 million

Geneva – Christie’s autumn Luxury Week totalled CHF125,367,440 | US$139,901,892 | €130,355,457 and was highlighted by the Bleu Royal which sold for CHF39,505,00 | US$44,009,645 becoming the most expensive jewel sold at auction in 2023. The bidding took 7 minutes, after which the diamond entered another private collection, for the first time after 40 years.

The Magnificent Jewels auction achieved a total of CHF69,888,310 | US$77,703,074 | €72,527,074 and welcomed bidders from 37 countries, selling 93% by lot and 98% by value.

Further highlights of the sale included:
Lot 78 – a rectangular modified brilliant-cut, fancy intense pink diamond of 8.77 carats selling for CHF4,643,000 | US$5,172,429
Lot 52 – a Burmese cushion-shaped ruby of 21.88 carats selling for CHF2,344,00 | US$2,611,280
Lot 71 – a heart brilliant-cut, F colour diamond of 55.75 carat selling for CHF2,313,750 | US$2,577,580
Lot 31 – a heart brilliant-cut, D-colour diamond of 30.02 carats selling for CHF1,557,500

Christie’s Watch Department held two live auctions on 6 November, Passion for Time, a highly important private collection of timepieces as well as the traditional Rare Watches sale which made a combined total of CHF55,476,610 | US$62,041,596 | €57,681,644 with 94% of lots sold across both sales. Eight watches sold over CHF1 million and two watches over CHF5 million. Clients came from across the world with registrants from 51 countries, and 21% of all bidders were new to Christie’s.

Passion for Time achieved CHF37,930,320 | US$42,418,914 | €39,437,940. The 113 lots of the collection of Mohammed Zaman were all sold.
Rare Watches achieved CHF 17,548,810 | US$19,625,499 |€18,246,324 with 90% of lots sold.

Highlights of the sales included:

Lot 2096 – The Grande & Petite Sonnerie No.1 by Philippe Dufour which took two-and-half years to create CHF5,127,000 | US$5,733,718 | €5,330,783
Lot 2052 – The Rolex ref. 1675 GMT Master worn by Marlon Brando in the film Apocalypse Now and customised by Brando by hand-engraving his name on the back of the case, sold for CHF4,582,500 | US$5,124,783 | €4,764,641
Lot 2010 – The George Daniels Anniversary “No. 00” in platinum sold for CHF1,800,000 |US$2,080,108 | €1,933,930. The watch commemorates the 35^th anniversary of Daniels’s invention of the co- axial escapement
Lot 101 – The only publicly known diamond Jumbo Nautilus in platinum with a Gay Frères bracelet, reference 3700 with its own individual sub-reference, sold for CHF1,618,000 | US$1,809,471 | €1,682,311

Upcoming Geneva Luxury Online Sales: Jewels Online: The Geneva Edit will be open for bidding until 16 NovemberPassion of Time Collection, online sale, will be open for bidding until 21 NovemberRare Watches: The Geneva Edit online will take place in December, opening on the 1^st and close on 12^th of December.

To him, wearing vintage and highly complex watches is akin to having a history book on the wrist, reflecting that these watches took years of research and development to complete, and involved some of history’s most celebrated watchmakers.

Reflecting upon the momentous moments in his watch-collecting journey, Mohammed Zaman concluded: “When I first started my collecting journey over 40 years ago, I had no inclination on where this path would take me. Today I am proud to own such an enviable and unparalleled collection of timepieces, to which I must thank my friends from the watch collecting and auction worlds.”

About Christie’s 
Founded in 1766, Christie’s has a physical presence in 46 countries, throughout the Americas, Europe, Middle East, and Asia Pacific, with flagship international sales hubs in New York, London, Hong Kong, Paris and Geneva. It also is the only international auction house authorized to hold sales in mainland China (Shanghai). Christie’s auctions span more than 80 art and luxury categories, at price points ranging from $200 to over $100 million. In recent years, Christie’s has achieved the world record price for an artwork at auction (Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvador Mundi, 2017), for a single collection sale (the Collection of Peggy and David Rockefeller, 2018), and for a work by a living artist (Jeff Koons’ Rabbit, 2019). Recent innovations at Christie’s include the ground-breaking sale of the first NFT for a digital work of art ever offered at a major auction house (Beeple’s Everydays, March 2021), with the unprecedented acceptance of cryptocurrency as a means of payment. As an industry leader in digital innovation, Christie’s also continues to pioneer new technologies that are redefining the business of art, including the creation of viewing and bidding experiences that integrate augmented reality, global livestreaming, buy-now channels, and hybrid sales formats. Christie’s is dedicated to advancing responsible culture throughout its business and communities worldwide, including achieving sustainability through net zero carbon emissions by 2030, and actively using its platform in the art world to amplify under-represented voices and support positive change. Browse, bid, discover,