Phillips Brings In $28M at New York Watch Auction

RAPAPORT... Phillips garnered $27.6 million from its flagship New York watch auction, led by Paul Newman's Rolex "Big Red" Daytona, which sold for $5.5 million.The price for the timepiece, purchased by an anonymous private collector, is the third-highest ever paid for a Rolex watch at auction, Phillips said last week. The December 12 auction, named Racing Pulse, also saw a record price for any Tag Heuer watch, with a Monaco-style timepiece worn by actor Steve McQueen in the film Le Mans selling for $2.2 million. That figure was more than 10 times the original estimate, and double the previous record.A collection of watches belonging to actor Sylvester Stallone sold for more than three times its presale valuation. The set, which included four Richard Mille timepieces, and one by Panerai, realized $3.1 million.Phillips also saw strong demand for Patek Philipe watches, it said. A white gold minute repeater with perpetual calendar, one of only five of its kind, went for $1 million, and a yellow gold perpetual calendar watch with moon phases brought in $529,200."The market for watches has never been stronger, as evidenced by the tremendous enthusiasm we have seen..., with registrants across 60 countries vying for these exceptional timepieces," said Aurel Bacs, senior consultant for Phillips. "Despite all the uncertainty we witnessed with the events of 2020, the insatiable international demand has led the Phillips watches team [to] see our most successful year ever."In total, Phillips sold 99% of items on offer.Image: Paul Newman's Rolex Daytona watch. (Phillips)