11 Timepieces to Follow at Phillips’s Hong Kong Watch Auction: XXIII
Observer ·
Rare Patek Philippe perpetual calendars and modern grand complications lead the November sale, joined by a gold “John Player Special” Daytona and a one-of-a-kind green Cartier Crash.
Phillips is preparing its most valuable Hong Kong watch auction to date by presale estimate, led by rare Patek Philippe wristwatches spanning more than eight decades of watchmaking. The Hong Kong Watch Auction: XXIII will take place on November 21 and 22 at the house’s Asia headquarters in the West Kowloon Cultural District, with early highlights ranging from a 1940 split-seconds chronograph to a possibly unique diamond-set complication with a salmon dial.
The sale comes two weeks after Phillips’ Geneva auction and ahead of its December auction in New York, placing Hong Kong squarely in the middle of the fall season. It also follows a significant spring result, when Phillips sold a pink-gold Patek Philippe Ref. 2499 for $10.2 million in Hong Kong —the highest price ever paid for a watch at auction in Asia. That two-day sale brought in $51.5 million, giving the November offering a considerable result to follow.
This time around, a yellow-gold Patek Philippe Ref. 2499 and a pink-gold Ref. 1518 return to the market after decades out of public view. They represent two of the manufacturer’s defining perpetual calendar chronographs, combining a stopwatch with a calendar that accounts for leap years and different month lengths. Alongside them is a platinum Patek Philippe Ref. 3990 with a salmon dial, possibly the only example of its kind, according to Phillips. Other highlights include a Patek Philippe with a tropical landscape rendered in enamel and a black-and-gold Rolex Daytona on a lavish gold mesh bracelet. A one-of-a-kind Cartier Crash rounds out the group, adding a luminous pine-green dial to one of watchmaking’s most eccentric designs. Here are 11 watches in the upcoming sale to follow:
Estimate: HK$12-24 million Following Phillips’ record result at its spring sale, another early example returns attention to the reference. Manufactured in 1952, the yellow-gold example offered here has been absent from the market for 37 years. Its Wenger -made case retains sharply defined proportions, original finishing and clear hallmarks—the small stamps certifying its gold content—with a warm patina developed over decades of aging. Introduced as the successor to the Ref. 1518, the Ref. 2499 paired a chronograph with a perpetual calendar that accounts for different month lengths and leap years. It became one of the defining luxury watches of the second half of the 20th Century, and for the example offered here, the appeal rests as much on the survival of its original details as on the reference itself.
Estimate: HK$8-16 million According to Phillips, approximately 58 examples of the Ref. 1518 were made in pink gold and considers this 1951 watch among the last of that group manufactured. It offers a rarer alternative to the yellow-gold versions of Patek Philippe’s pioneering perpetual calendar chronograph. Absent from the public market for 24 years, the example offered here retains a sharply defined Vichet -made case and a well-preserved dial with Spanish day and month indications. Those calendar displays add another distinguishing detail to a watch already notable for its metal and condition.
Estimate: HK$12-24 million The salmon dial is what separates this platinum Ref. 3990P-011 from an already small group. Of the 17 Ref. 3990 examples known to Phillips, it is the only one in platinum with a salmon dial. The configuration is confirmed by its original Certificate of Origin, and the house describes the watch as possibly unique. Dating to circa 2006 and appearing at auction for the first time, the watch combines a perpetual calendar chronograph with a diamond-set bezel and hour markers. The salmon dial brings warmth to the platinum and diamonds, giving the watch a softer appearance than the materials alone might suggest. Its estimate matches that of the yellow-gold Ref. 2499, putting a rare modern configuration alongside an established vintage reference at the top of the sale.
Estimate: In excess of HK$8 million Purchased in 2008 and offered by its original owner, this platinum Sky Moon Tourbillon has spent roughly 18 years unused. Phillips describes it as unworn and single-sealed, accompanied by its Certificate of Origin, chronometer certificate and original accessories. “Single-sealed” means it remains in its factory plastic sleeve, a detail collectors value as evidence of its untouched condition. Another platinum Ref. 5002P-001 appeared at Christie’s Hong Kong this spring, making this a second opportunity this year to follow the model in the city. Introduced in 2001 as Patek Philippe’s most complicated wristwatch, the Sky Moon places 12 complications across two dials. A perpetual calendar, retrograde date and moon-age display occupy the front, while the reverse turns toward astronomy with a sky chart, sidereal time and the moon’s movement and phases. A tourbillon and minute repeater with cathedral gongs complete the mechanical picture.
Estimate: HK$5-10 million Four emerald hour markers give this circa-2016 platinum Ref. 5074 a distinct identity. Set at 3, 6, 9 and 12 o’clock, they add color to the silver dial while leaving its calendar displays unobstructed. Phillips believes this is the first gem-set platinum example to appear publicly and suggests it may be unique. The 42mm watch combines an automatic perpetual calendar and moon-phase display with a minute repeater fitted with cathedral gongs. These extend farther around the movement than conventional gongs, producing what Phillips describes as a longer, more resonant chime.
Estimate: HK$4.8-9.6 million The Ref. 5303 reveals what a minute repeater usually keeps hidden. Its hammers and gongs are visible from the front, allowing the wearer to watch them strike as the watch sounds the hours, quarters and minutes. The tourbillon is also visible through the small-seconds display at 6 o’clock. This circa-2021 pink-gold example was retailed by Tiffany & Co., whose stamp appears on the certificate. Collectors particularly prize Patek Philippe watches with Tiffany-signed dials, though in this case Phillips notes the retailer’s stamp is on the paperwork. The house identifies it as only the second publicly known example of the model to appear at auction. It is offered by its original owner in virtually unworn condition with its full accessories.
Estimate: HK$5-10 million This 1954 pink-gold Patek Philippe Ref. 2481 features a tropical landscape dial rendered in blue, green and yellow cloisonné enamel. Fine metal wires outline the scene, with the individual areas filled with enamel and fired. According to Phillips, the colors remain remarkably vivid after more than 70 years. Phillips believes this is one of only seven known pink-gold examples with the tropical landscape motif and highlights its well-preserved case and two deeply struck hallmarks. Cloisonné enamel appeared on a small number of Patek Philippe wristwatch dials in the 1940s and 1950s, and the manufacture continues to use it in its Rare Handcrafts collection and world-time watches. This Ref. 2481 offers an early example of that continuing tradition.
Estimate: HK$2.4-4.8 million This 1940 Ref. 1436 pairs a pink-gold case with a matching pink dial, a combination Phillips calls “Pink on Pink.” The house knows of only five examples with this pairing and identifies this as the earliest known to appear publicly. The watch retains its original dial, while an extract from Patek Philippe’s archives confirms its 1940 production date, rose-colored dial and tachymeter scale. Introduced in 1938, the Ref. 1436 was Patek Philippe’s first serially produced split-seconds chronograph wristwatch. Two chronograph seconds hands allow the wearer to record an intermediate time while continuing to measure the overall event.
Estimate: HK$2.4-4.8 million The Ref. 2497 brings a central seconds hand to the perpetual calendar, an unusual arrangement among Patek Philippe’s vintage calendar watches. It shares its movement family with the water-resistant Ref. 2438/1, with only 180 movements made in that family, according to Phillips. Dating to 1953, this yellow-gold first-series example measures 37mm—a relatively generous size for the period compared with its 34mm predecessor, the Ref. 1526. According to Phillips, the case remains well preserved, with sharply defined contours and clearly stamped gold hallmarks. The larger case gives the calendar displays more space, while the central seconds hand keeps the layout closer to that of a conventional dress watch.
Estimate: HK$3.9-7.9 million The only Rolex among the sale’s highlights announced so far, this circa-1969 Daytona pairs an 18-karat yellow-gold case with a black Paul Newman dial and contrasting gold registers. Its period-correct gold mesh bracelet gives it a distinctly different appearance from the sportier examples usually associated with the model. The “ John Player Special ” nickname refers to the dial’s resemblance to the black-and-gold livery of the Lotus Formula One cars sponsored by the cigarette brand from 1972. According to Phillips’ research, fewer than 10 yellow-gold Ref. 6239 examples with this dial are known. Fresh to the market, the watch could produce a stronger result than its place beneath the headline Pateks might suggest. In May 2023, Sotheby’s sold a yellow-gold Ref. 6241 “John Player Special” in Geneva for CHF 2,238,000, approximately $2.49 million. That Ref. 6241 had a riveted gold bracelet, but its result gives this Ref. 6239 an interesting precedent heading into November.
Estimate: HK$1.5-3 million The only Cartier among the sale’s highlights announced so far is a one-of-a-kind white-gold Crash with a luminous pine-green dial. Made circa 2024 through Cartier’s New Special Order program, which allows clients to commission bespoke watches, it pairs the familiar distorted case with a crown set with a matching green sapphire. “Let it be” is engraved on the caseback, adding a personal inscription to the custom design. The watch is offered at auction for the first time by its original owner, with its original accessories. A bespoke Cartier has already made auction history in Hong Kong this season. Sotheby’s sold a unique white-gold Cheich for approximately $3.4 million in September, setting a new record for a Cartier wristwatch. This Crash has a much lower estimate and a different history, but its unusual green dial gives collectors something they won’t find in another example of the model.