A rare Patek Philippe Ref. 2499 First Series in pink gold was auctioned in Asia for the first time and established a new world auction record for the timepiece – check it out below.
Phillips, in association with Bacs & Russo, auctioned off the rare Patek Philippe Ref. 2499 First Series in pink gold on May 30th and the sale itself proved to be historic.
Not only was this the first time one of these timepieces has been offered at auction in Asia, it now marks the most expensive timepiece ever sold at auction in the region.
How much did it sell for?
The watch sold for a record breaking HK$80,370,000 [US$10,255,21] which is also a world auction record for the Patek Philippe Ref. 2499.
At time of writing only five wristwatches have ever been sold for over US$10 million at non-charitable auction. These peices were all sold by Phillips, across New York, Geneva, and Hong Kong.
What is special about this Patek Philippe Ref. 2499 First Series in pink gold?
The timepiece was first introduced in 1951 and has since been celebrated as one of the most iconic pieces ever created due to it’s complicated design.
When it comes to the First Series, it was offered in both yellow and pink gold. Over a 35-year production run only 349 examples were produced. The pink gold examples only featured the extremely coveted Vichet case on a total of just four wristwatches.
The specific timepiece which was sold at this auction featured a unique distinction. It is the only known Ref. 2499 First Series in pink gold stamped with British hallmarks.
Manufactured in 1951, imported to London in 1955, and sold in 1956, the case back bears both a British import mark and a Swiss hallmark.
It is stamped with both the London “U” date letter and the “Ω” import mark for 18K gold, meaning the rarity was heightened even further for such a piece.
How does this compare to other Phillips sales?
This adds to the list of Phillips record breaking auction statistics.
When it comes to success with Patek Philipe, they are no strangers. In November 2015, they sold a Patek Philippe reference 1518 in stainless steel for US$17,631,075. This was the highest result achieved for a vintage Patek Philipe at auction.
They have also had great success with celebrity watches as seen in October 2017. At an auction in New York they sold Paul Newman’s Rolex “Paul Newman” Daytona reference 6239 for a massive US$17,752,500. This marked the highest result which has ever been achieved for a vintage wristwatch at auction.
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