How to buy a watch at auction – and when to stop bidding
The watch community may prefer to keep things to themselves when it comes to finding and acquiring rare or historically significant timepieces, but when the price of a single timepiece hits tens of millions of dollars at auction, the rest of the world cannot help but sit up and pay attention.
Headlines were made in October 2017 when the Paul Newman Daytona, a Rolex Cosmograph Daytona Reference 6239 owned by the actor himself, went under the hammer. The then 49-year old watch was sold in New York for US$17.8 million, claiming the title of the most expensive wristwatch to be sold at auction.
Calm and in control of the auction floor on that historic day, Aurel Bacs, global head of the watches department at Phillips auction house, was completely shocked, and his expression of disbelief racked up hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube. The auction of the famous Rolex had firmly piqued the interest of the world.
“It was and probably will be one of the defining moments of my career,” says Bacs.
Bacs, an ardent watch aficionado who tends to refrain from participating in bidding these days, has several tips for first-timers at auction. Beyond setting a limit on how much you want to spend, Bacs says the most important thing a buyer can do is to get a first-hand look at the timepieces before auction day.
In this video, he shares with us how best to approach a watch auction – and when to say no to something you have your eye on.
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Got your eye on a rare Rolex? Aurel Bacs, global head of the watches department at Phillips auction house, shares tips on how to acquire a special timepiece at auction