On Sunday, auction house Phillips announced the sale of Swiss Patek Philippe watches for a record-breaking price. The watch was sold at an auction in Geneva. During the two-day auction, around 1,886 registered bidders from 72 countries participated. A total of 207 lots were sold for more than 66.8 million Swiss francs ($82.87 million), setting a record for a watch auction. The record was set during the sale of a stainless steel Patek Philippe Perpetual Calendar, reference 1518, made in 1943. It is one of only four known examples in stainless steel, making it exceptionally rare. The sale took place in less than 9.5 minutes via telephone and attracted five bidders. Nine years prior, in 2017, the same watch had been sold for 11 million Swiss francs ($13.64 million), demonstrating a significant increase in value. This sale reaffirms the watch's status as 'one of the most important wristwatches of all time,' according to auction experts. In 2019, a Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime sold for $31 million, and in 2017, the record for the most expensive wristwatch was broken when a Paul Newman Rolex Daytona sold for $17.8 million.
