A Patek Phillippe model sold for HK 17,795,000 as the most expensive watch at Phillips auction.
The Hong Kong Watch Auction, which have been put on our agenda days ago, finally met watch enthusiasts. So much so that, we have been reading articles about watches in the sales for days. For instance, Phillips published an article about highlights of the upcoming auction including a Rolex Daytona (Ref. 16589SACI) and Patek Phillippe Naitulus (Ref. 3800/1) from 1983. Also, various watch magazines estimated that Patek Philippe and Rolex models will go toe-to-toe at Phillips Hong Kong Watch Auction XIII. And so it was that Patek Philippe “The Blue Royale” sold for HK$ 17,795,000, whilst the Rolex Cosmograph Daytona “Paul Newman John Player Special” sold for HK$13,560,000.
Indeed, auction estimations, as we mentioned above, showed that these two models might be highlights of the sale. And many watch experts and editors were not mistaken, which means these two models sold as most expensive watches at auction. The most expensive watch is Patek Philippe “The Blue Royale” (Ref. 3448/100) sold for HK 17,795,000, which is one of the complicated Patek models that is frequently seen in auctions. However, it distinguishes with its unique sapphire-set indexes.
Indeed, the journey of this 37.5 mm diameter case begins with a gold case in 1973. By 1997, the watch cased in platinum. The watch is one of the rare platinum cases produced with this reference number. Also, it is dubbed by Italian collectors as the “Padellone” due to its distinctive case design that mimics the aesthetics of a “frying pan”. This case with clean and angular lines is a typical example of evolution of watchmaking design of the 1960s.
The white dial is quite elegant and plain. It takes its elegance from the brilliant-cut blue sapphires placed on the indexes, while dark blue Moon phase indicator at 6 o’clock completed its classiness. There is also a day and month indicator at 12 o’clock.
At a special order of its original owner, the model was cased in platinum in 1997 and changed with sapphire indexes. With reference number 3448, which is the only example of its series, the selling price of the watch was already expected to exceed HK$10 million. Therefore, it was not a surprise for us that the watch sold for approximately 18 million Hong Kong dollars and became the most expensive watch at the auction.
