A rare Patek Philippe watch just sold for a record US$5.8 million in Hong Kong: the Swiss brand’s ‘Sky Moon Tourbillon’ sale marked the highest price ever paid for a timepiece in an online auction

Mar 23 , 2023

Patek Philippe’s “Sky Moon Tourbillon” just sold for a record US$5.8 million at auction. Photo: Christie’s

A rare Patek Philippe watch sold for US$5.8 million in Hong Kong, the highest price ever paid for a timepiece in an online auction.

The Patek Philippe Sky Moon Tourbillon. Photo: Christie’s

The Patek Philippe “Sky Moon Tourbillon”, with a blue handmade enamel dial and white gold hand-carved case, fetched US$5.8 million (HK$45.45 million) on Tuesday, Christie’s, the auction house, said in a statement.

The price shows collectors are still willing to shell out for rare watches despite troubling issues in the banking sector. Expensive watches are a favourite luxury splurge for bankers using cash from annual bonuses, but they are now facing troubled times after the emergency takeover of Credit Suisse Group AG by country rival UBS Group AG and the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank.

This dazzling Patek Philippe watch, reference number 6002G-001, just broke records at auction. Photo: Christie’s

The Patek Philippe watch, reference number 6002G-001, was originally sold in Geneva in 2015 and is considered among the most complex timepieces in the world. It features 12 complications, including a perpetual calendar with a retrograde date display and a chiming minute repeater.

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Secondary market and auction prices for some of the most popular luxury watches made by Swiss brands from Rolex to Patek to Audemars Piguet soared to unprecedented levels during the pandemic and into the first quarter of 2022. However, they fell sharply as interest rates started rising and cryptocurrencies started collapsing.

The Patek Philippe Sky Moon Tourbillon is made in 18k white gold and has a blue cloisonné enamel dial. Photo: Christie’s

“There continues to be an extremely vibrant market for watches across the world, evidenced through the avid global bidding this sale witnessed,” Alexandre Bigler, the vice-president and head of watches at Christie’s Asia-Pacific, said in a statement.

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Timepieces

Christie’s announced the record sale of Patek Philippe’s rare timepiece for US$5.8 million, indicating that the second-hand watch market is still thriving, as with brands like Rolex to Audemars Piguet
The historic transaction comes after a recent slump in the market due to the cryptocurrency collapse and uncertainties in the banking sector after the emergency takeover of Credit Suisse Group by UBS