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List Of Most Expensive Watches Sold At Auction
This list of most expensive watches sold at auction documents the watches sold at auction worldwide for ''at least'' 9.5 million US dollars. The final price listed is the total price paid by the buyer converted to US dollars, according to the currency exchange rate at the time of auction. This price is the aggregate of the hammer price (i.e., the winning bid or sale price at the auction) plus any buyer's premium paid to the auction houses (where levied, and in accordance with the rates charged by the relevant auction house). While the rates of buyer's vary between auction houses (which rates can also vary within each auction house based on the nature of the lot and its value), most auction houses publish their results inclusive of the buyer's premium, and so the rankings which follow are based on the aggregated price paid by the buyer: for the watch itself (the hammer or sale price) and for the auction house's services and administrative costs (the buyer's premium). Inflation-adjust ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta in South China. With 7.5 million residents of various nationalities in a territory, Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated places in the world. Hong Kong is also a major global financial centre and one of the most developed cities in the world. Hong Kong was established as a colony of the British Empire after the Qing Empire ceded Hong Kong Island from Xin'an County at the end of the First Opium War in 1841 then again in 1842.. The colony expanded to the Kowloon Peninsula in 1860 after the Second Opium War and was further extended when Britain obtained a 99-year lease of the New Territories in 1898... British Hong Kong was occupied by Imperial Japan from 1941 to 1945 during World War II; British administration resume ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard Mille
Richard Mille is a Swiss luxury watch company founded in 2001 by Dominique Guenat and Richard Mille, and based in Les Breuleux, Switzerland. The brand specialises in ultra-high-end luxury watches. Company history Introduction After studying marketing in Besançon, Richard Mille (born 13 February 1951, Draguignan, France) started work at Finhor, a local watchmaking company in 1974. The company was bought by Matra in 1981 and Richard Mille rose to manage Matra's watchmaking business, which then included the brands Yema and Cupillard Rième. Matra's watchmaking activities were sold to Seiko, who Mille left in 1992 to start a watchmaking business for jewellery firm Mauboussin. Development Following a disagreement about commercial strategy at Mauboussin, where he was a shareholder, Richard Mille left his position as General Manager of the watchmaking division of the Place Vendôme jeweller and decided to launch his own range of watches. In late 1998, he presented his plans to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Daniels (watchmaker)
George Daniels, CBE, FBHI, FSA, AHCI (19 August 1926 – 21 October 2011) was an English horologist who was considered by some to be one of the best in the world in the field of luxury mechanical watches and timepieces during his lifetime. He was a watchmaker who built complete watches by hand (including the case and dial). But it was his creation of the coaxial escapement for which he is most remembered. The movement, which theoretically removed the need to add a lubricant, has been used by Omega in most of their collections since 1999 with the exception of the Speedmaster Moonwatch (until the release of the Speedmaster Moonwatch Caliber 3861 in 2021). A gold chronograph pocket watch made by George Daniels, the ''Space Traveller's Watch I'', ranks as one of the 20 most expensive watches ever sold at auction, fetching £ 3,615,000 in London on 2 July 2019. Early career Daniels was born in Sunderland in 1926. His mother was unmarried so she fled London and travelled ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Philippe Dufour
Philippe Dufour (born 1948) is a Swiss-born watchmaker from Le Sentier, Vallée de Joux. He is regarded as the greatest master of modern watchmaking, and his watches are referenced as among the best ever made. He finishes all of his watches himself by hand. In 1992, Dufour was the first watchmaker to put arguably the most complex of complications in a wristwatch, a Sonnerie. His other two models include Duality and Simplicity. Education After middle school, at the age of 15, Dufour decided to choose a profession rather than studying academics. Upon his decision to study mechanics, he got his first training at the Ecole d’Horlogerie de la Vallée de Joux and graduated in 1967. Career Following the completion of his studies, he was hired by Jaeger-LeCoultre in 1967. After working for several companies, Audemars Piguet ordered 5 Sonnerie movements for pocket watches from Dufour and he started to work on the project in 1982. The last movement was delivered in 1988. After finis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Breguet (brand)
Breguet is a Swiss- French luxury watch, clock and jewelry manufacturer founded by Abraham-Louis Breguet in Paris in 1775. Since 1999, it has been a subsidiary of the Swiss Swatch Group. Headquartered in L'Abbaye, Switzerland, Breguet is one of the oldest surviving watchmaking brands and a pioneer of numerous watchmaking technologies such as the tourbillon, which was invented by Abraham Breguet in 1801. Abraham Breguet also invented and produced the world's first self-winding watch (the ''Perpétuelle'') in 1780, as well as the world's first wristwatch in 1810 (the Breguet No.2639, for Caroline Bonaparte, Queen of Naples). Breguet is a highly regarded watch manufacturer. Over the years, notable Breguet patrons and timepieces owners include King George III, Queen Victoria, Alexandre I of Russia, Napoléon Bonaparte, Ettore Bugatti, Sir Winston Churchill, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Gioachino Rossini, Arthur Rubinstein and so on. In particular, the ''Breguet & Fils, Paris No. 2667 (1814)' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Poly Auction
China Poly Group Corporation () is a state owned Chinese business group among 102 central state owned enterprises under the supervision of State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC). It is both primarily engaged in representing the Chinese defense manufacturing industry in international sales and the world's third largest art auction house (behind Sotheby's and Christie's).Bowley, Graham and Barboza, David"An Art Power Rises in China, Posing Issue for Reform" ''The New York Times'', 16 December 2013. Retrieved 5 July 2016. History With the approval of the State Council, China Poly Group Corp. was set up on the basis of Poly Technologies, Inc. in February 1992. Poly Technologies was formed in 1984 as an arms-manufacturing wing of the People's Liberation Army. After more than 20 years of development, international trading and real estate have been well established as the two core businesses of the Group, the managing director Quan G ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Audemars Piguet
Audemars Piguet Holding SA () is a Swiss manufacturer of luxury watches and clocks, headquartered in Le Brassus, Switzerland. The company was founded by Jules Louis Audemars and Edward Auguste Piguet in the Vallée de Joux in 1875, acquiring the name ''Audemars Piguet & Cie'' in 1881. The company has been family-owned since its founding. The company is best known for introducing the Royal Oak wristwatch in 1972, which helped the brand rise to prominence within the watchmaking industry. One of its earlier achievements was creating the first minute-repeating movement in 1892. The company developed the first skeleton watch in 1934 and has manufactured some of the thinnest watches, such as the 1986 ultra-thin automatic tourbillon wristwatch (Calibre 2870). History Early history Jules Louis Audemars and Edward Auguste Piguet knew each other in their childhood but were not reconnected until 1874, when they were in their early twenties. In 1875, they formed partnership with Le ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sotheby's
Sotheby's () is a British-founded American multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, and maintains a significant presence in the UK. Sotheby's was established on 11 March 1744 in London by Samuel Baker, a bookseller. In 1767 the firm became Baker & Leigh, after George Leigh became a partner, and was renamed to Leigh and Sotheby in 1778 after Baker's death when Leigh's nephew, John Sotheby, inherited Leigh's share. Other former names include: Leigh, Sotheby and Wilkinson; Sotheby, Wilkinson and Hodge (1864–1924); Sotheby and Company (1924–83); Mssrs Sotheby; Sotheby & Wilkinson; Sotheby Mak van Waay; and Sotheby's & Co. The American holding company was initially incorporated in August 1983 in Michigan as Sotheby's Holdings, Inc. In June 2006, it was reincorporated in the State of Delaware and was renamed Sotheby's. In Ju ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antiquorum
Antiquorum is an auctioneer of modern and vintage timepieces. Established in Geneva in 1974, Antiquorum was the first auction house to auction fine watches over the Internet in the 1990s. The company was founded in Geneva in 1974 by Osvaldo Patrizzi and expanded to have branches in ten cities, including New York, London, Moscow, Paris, Milan, Munich, Shanghai, and Tokyo. Patrizzi sold 50% of his equity to ArtistHouse Holdings in 2006. In June 2007 he was removed by the board of directors and later filed a number of lawsuits. Antiquorum conducts auctions in Geneva, New York and Hong Kong about ten times a year, preceded by previews in various major cities worldwide. In 1989 Antiquorum held a "landmark auction" called "Art of Patek Philippe." This auction helped to establish Patek Philippe's reputation as a luxury watch brand and viable investment and solidified the notion that watches can be more than just "timepieces." Consumer Affairs Battle In April 2018, Antiquorum entere ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phillips (auctioneers)
Phillips, formerly known as Phillips the Auctioneers (briefly as Phillips de Pury), is a British auction house. It was founded in London in 1796, and has head offices in London and in New York City. It was owned by the Mercury Group, a Russian luxury goods company. History Phillips was founded in 1796 by Harry Phillips, who had been a clerk to James Christie. The business held twelve auctions in its first year and soon became successful. Napoleon and Beau Brummel were among the early patrons. Harry Phillips died in 1840, and the business passed to his son William Augustus, who renamed it Phillips & Son; when his son-in-law Frederick Neale joined in 1882, the company became Phillips, Son & Neale. It was renamed Phillips in the 1970s; it was usually referred to as Phillips, the Auctioneers. In 1999 a majority stake in the company was sold to venture capitalists 3i, who resold it shortly after for a considerable profit. The company was bought in 1999 by Bernard Arnault of L ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
