Did a Chinese buyer pay a world-record US$3.88 million for ‘The Asprey’ Patek Philippe watch?
The vintage timepiece, made in 1952, was bought in Geneva after frantic bidding by an anonymous Asian woman, who spoke Chinese into her mobile phone
A unique vintage wristwatch set a world record price for a Patek Philippe timepiece after hectic bidding when it was sold at auction for 3.91 million Swiss francs (US$3.88 million) in Geneva on Tuesday, the auctioneer Sotheby’s said.
The timepiece, made by the luxury Swiss watchmaker in 1952, and bought four years later at Asprey’s – the only one of its kind the London retailer ever sold – is a perpetual calendar chronograph.
“The Asprey” was the star lot among 250 watches and pocket watches, including pieces by Cartier, Rolex, and Vacheron Constantin, that went under the hammer at the semi-annual auction.
Tuesday’s anonymous seller had bought the timepiece at auction in 2006 for a then-record 2.2 million Swiss francs and this time around it had a pre-sale estimate of US$2 million to US$4 million.
The buyer’s identity was not immediately known, but the successful bidder was a young Asian woman wearing torn jeans in the back row of the sale room, who spoke Chinese into her mobile phone.
“A world record price for a [Patek Philippe reference model] 2499. Sold,” Sam Hines, global head of Sotheby’s watch division, said as he brought down the hammer after hectic bidding.
The original owner, whose initials, RC, are engraved on the back of the watch’s yellow gold case, probably received it for his 21st birthday.