Breaking News: Second F.P. Journe Wristwatch Ever Made Sells For Over $8.3 Million At Phillips
The 2024 Winter Auction Season in Geneva took very little time to warm up. Only the 14th lot of the over 1,600 on offer has made headline news. Friday afternoon Geneva time, F.P. Journe’s second wristwatch ever made, a Tourbillon Souverain à Remontoire d’Egalité from 1993, hammered for CHF 6,000,000, with an all-in price tag of CHF 7,320,000 ($8,357,441).
Until yesterday, the most expensive F.P. Journe sold at auction was “The Hand,” a piece unique made for Only Watch in 2021, which sold for CHF 4,500,000 all-in to benefit charity. Talk around Geneva and the greater watch world did not question if this lot would surpass The Hand, that seemed like a given. But where the bidding would eventually stop was still a mystery. Sure, the Journe market is not at its peak but watches as historically important as this are typically impervious to general market trends.
Image courtesy of Phillips.
As has become a theme (or maybe a tradition) with noteworthy lots at Phillips, Paul Boutros (Deputy Chairman and Head of Americas for Phillips) kicked off the bidding with a very loud and proud “5 million, sir!” from the phone bank. Either an attempt to knock out hopeful bidders or a tribute to the now famous “10 million dollars, sir!” that started the 2017 sale of Paul Newman’s Paul Newman Daytona, the phone bidder’s style shocked the room a bit. Nearly every Phillips specialist was on the phone with a potential bidder yet no one jumped in for what seemed like an hour in person.
Aurel Bacs, master auctioneer and ever the showman, filled the dead air by making conversation with François-Paul Journe himself, seated in the front row. Journe confirmed that the first wristwatch he made, his personal watch, will never be for sale. Officially, the current lot would be the earliest Journe one could possibly own.
Suddenly and surprisingly, a room bidder jumped in, pushing the bid past the round 5 million mark and starting a bit of a back-and-forth. Boutros and his client were swift in responding, eventually holding the bid at 6 million flat the moment the hammer fell.
The moment the hammer fell. Image courtesy of Phillips.
Add in the auction premium and you get a final, all-in price of CHF 7,320,000 – making this the most expensive Journe, the most expensive wristwatch by an independent watchmaker, and the seventh most expensive watch at auction, ever.
What was it like in the auction room? Beyond the sudden stillness that I’ve already described, the room was packed to the brim with collectors, dealers, and reluctant tagalongs – most with iPhones raised, capturing their own homemade MP4 for the virtual scrapbook. After the hammer fell, applause ensued as one would expect and maybe even a slight smile emerged from the face of Mr. Journe. Given his position in the room, only Bacs would know for sure.
But what does this result mean? I’ll admit, the feel of a result like this is not as jaw-dropping as it once was. I mentioned this Journe is now the seventh most expensive wristwatch sold at auction, three of the six in front of it sold within the last three years. Look, it still means a ton for a watch to emerge above 5 million dollars at auction but we’re getting desensitized to these numbers, no one can argue that.
For Journe lovers and the man himself, I can imagine this result is extremely gratifying. I remember leaving the Only Watch auction room back in May and overhearing another attendee making the point that Rexhep Rexhepi’s submission had sold for more than Journe’s. “‘The next Journe’ just surpassed the man himself, head-to-head” – I’ll never forget that comment. Journe has punched back in a rivalry that probably doesn’t even exist. Yesterday at Phillips Geneva, Journe claimed an unspoken victory, setting a record that quietly reflects his pride in knowing that a wristwatch he crafted by hand has now sold for more than any other from an independent watchmaker.
The previous most expensive independent wristwatch, a Philippe Dufour Grande et Petite Sonnerie sold by A Collected Man for $7.63 million. Image: courtesy of A Collected Man.
More generally, yesterday’s result speaks to a growing trend within watch collecting – top quality is of paramount importance and can make a watch fly past an estimate with ease. We’re early on in this November’s Geneva auctions but, beyond this Journe, Phillips has also claimed records for the most expensive automatic Rolex Daytona with the first “Rainbow” produced, the highest price paid for a Derek Pratt/Urban Jürgensen with “The Oval” pocket watch, and the most expensive ref. 6264 Rolex Daytona with a “Lemon Dial” Paul Newman. Collectors at the highest level are more educated than ever on condition and quality. When a watch is head and shoulders above the rest, the price is increasingly and exponentially reflective.
And who possibly could have been on the other end of Boutros’s phone? Of course, the Phillips team both legally and rightfully so will not say. Within minutes of Bacs’ hammer hitting the rostrum, a rumor had started around town that a certain American tech-world executive who attended Harvard University was the proud new owner. While most rumors have a hint of truth, this one does not.
Top photo: Mark Kauzlarich
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