Sotheby’s Watch Division has announced an online venture of weekly auctions to complement its existing sales calendar. The rolling sale format, with a new selection of watches to be unveiled every seven days, demonstrates the growing interest in and demand for wristwatches – and in digital.
The passion for wristwatches has grown exponentially, and unlike, say, a piano, it can fit in a letterbox – which gives the product explosive global power.
Watches are available in large editions, and therefore in most price ranges, and the power of digital allows established watch brands to capitalise all on markets. In 2019, Sotheby’s doubled the value of its online watch segment compared to 2018.
See also: A Record Auction, Booming Sales and Positive Signs, Thanks to Digital
Collectors are looking for more flexibility and a swifter turnaround between appraisal and sale. They are also increasingly confident to buy important pieces online.
These digital Sotheby’s sales will only build on the success of online watch auctions in recent years. Josh Pullan, Global Managing Director of Sotheby’s Watches, comments on the new venture:
“We’ve seen our online business move from strength to strength since its launch in 2016 and we believe that now is the time to unveil the next iteration of this format. With weekly online auctions, we can prepare, inspect and offer watches for sale almost instantly using our digital capabilities and provide swift services to buyers and sellers,”
If there were any initial nerves at Sotheby's the week before the start of this first auction, these have likely been blown away by now. Last week, the company set a personal record for an online watch sale: a Rolex Daytona Panda (ref 6262) from 1971 went for CHF162,500 (£136,300) after an estimate of CHF80,000-120,000 (£67,100-100,650). Sam Hines, Worldwide Head of Sotheby’s Watches, says:
“Collectors are looking for more flexibility and a swifter turnaround between appraisal and sale. They are also increasingly confident to buy important pieces online. This was demonstrated last week, when we set a new record for a watch sold online.”
Their first auction catalogue in this series contains numerous exclusive pieces. Among the nineteen Rolexes are a Daytona, ref 6263 from c. 1975 made for Mohammed Bin Rashid al Maktoum, and a Paul Newman, Daytona, ref 6241, from 1968. Five Audemars Piguet can also be found in the auction, which starts on Wednesday 1 April and ends exactly one week later.
