Patek Philippe watch sold to anonymous buyer for record US$11m at auction
1943 timepiece from world’s first perpetual-calendar chronograph series went for three times pre-sale estimate
A stainless steel Patek Philippe watch has sold for a record US$11 million in Geneva.
The piece from the Swiss company’s 1518 series sold on Saturday for 11,002,000 Swiss francs following a 13-minute bidding war, according to a statement from Phillips, a leading watch auction firm based in London.
When Patek Philippe introduced the 1518 series in 1941, they were the first perpetual calendar chronographs, meaning they were the first that had both a stop-watch function as well as a calendar designed to keep track of dates for centuries, with leap years factored in.
The piece was made in 1943, Phillips said. Its sale price – more than triple the pre-sale estimate – set “a new world record for any wristwatch at auction”, it said. Neither the buyer nor the seller were identified.