It’s time to dig in for the fall auction season, and with over 1225 lots, I must admit I’ve delayed this out of sheer overwhelming anxiety about the amount of work to do. Also, aside from a small preview of watches held by Phillips in New York a few weeks back, I haven’t had time to handle these watches, which increasingly leaves me unnerved as prices rise and audiences become more educated. It allows folks to pick out details you just can’t notice when looking at hundreds of watches but can find if you look at one or two watches closely, which I don’t have the luxury of. Caveat emptor, as always, but I’ll be going to some previews in Geneva next week, and I will update if I notice anything.
In case you missed it, Ben covered some things he noticed for these same auctions, which led to me crossing out some things I was going to cover (since he beat me to it) and to send him a bit of a lamenting text saying that he blew up my spot on a few things I was going to bid on. All is fair in love and coverage. I’m sure I might blow up some readers. Them’s the breaks. So let’s get into what caught my eye.
Christie’s – November 9, 2026
We’re going to start where the market has put its attention: F.P. Journe. The elephant in the room is the brand headquartered a 15-minute walk from the Christie’s auction room in Geneva at Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues, across the Rhône, and into the Old Town. The demand for Journe is not of the brand’s making, and it has certainly caused headaches for Montres Journe, which will never be able to meet supply. So for now, buyers continue to turn to the secondary market, and prices rise. For how long? This fall will be the test.
Christie’s moves last in this chess game—they have the final auction of the four major houses—so by November 9 we’ll already have a sense of the Journe market. They’re offering a number of big-ticket watches, however, with an early, third-generation brass movement Tourbillon topping the lots with a CHF 650,000 to CHF 1,400,000 estimate. Two watches formerly belonging to Michael Schumacher, a Ruthenium Tourbillon and a Chronometre à Résonance, start at the same price. These same watches were sold by Christie’s only two years ago for CHF 642,000 and CHF 390,600 respectively, and while I’m always incredulous at the impact of celebrity provenance, those prices are below what the market would do today even without Schumacher’s name.
There are other options, of course, and at the top end is a brass movement Resonance at CHF 500,000 to CHF 1,000,000, which frankly just feels a bit mind-boggling to me, but there are far fewer of these than a lot of Pateks that go for much more, so I guess it’s fair? I don’t really know anymore. I’m far more interested in the set of Vagabondage I, II, and III, which are at least different than your normal fare and rare to see at market. Will they do great numbers? Well, they don’t look like quintessential Journe, but I’d imagine that won’t hold them back.
Next up is Patek, and there’s a 3448G—oh wait, Ben covered that. A fresh-to-market Khanjar Nautilus ref. 3700 is pretty spectacular, but with the market shifts, I have no idea how interested collectors are in these things right now. You can’t deny the yellow Khanjar matching the yellow case (plus all the supporting documents and presentation box) makes it one of the most attractive watches this fall. After 5 years, the Patek ref. 1518 with movement number 867’235 is back on the market as well. I like that the original owner engraved his name on the caseback, and the watch looks to be in good condition overall. The watch sold for CHF 400,000 in 2021, and now they’re starting at CHF 500,000.
As someone who wrote a deep dive on these watches, I can’t ignore this ref. 2438 from 1955, with the waterproof case and the super sporty baton indices. The ref. 2438 was always more in demand than the third series 2497, so the CHF 350,000 starting price seems more than fair, and this example looks like it’s in particularly good condition. However, if I had the money, I’d be bidding on this incredible ref. 2551 in white gold with a diamond dial and Serpico y Laino signature. The watch last sold at Monaco Legend Group for €156,250 in 2023, so the CHF 80,000 starting price also seems reasonable.
I’m going to swing back to independents to finish up, because there are a number of strong lots in the category, and not all of them are for brands where prices have gone crazy expensive (yet). For instance, Gronefeld just released an incredibly complicated and yet compact watch, inspired by some of their best achievements, including this Parallax Tourbillon, which rarely comes up for sale. Voutilainen prices have gone through the roof, but this 28SC with an onyx center dial is incredibly cool (though sad to see someone sell a watch with their initials on the dial), albeit expensive at CHF 300,000 to 500,000. Vianney Halter is probably due a resurgence, so if this Trio Grand Date sells for the CHF 50,000 starting price, it feels like quite the deal. Finally, I expect this unique Sylvain Pinaud to go through the CHF 200,000 top estimate as the demand has risen with his tourbillon launch this year.
For more on Christie’s “Rare Watches Including Watches for ELA” live sale, visit their website.
Antiquorum – November 7 and 8th, 2026
The most daunting catalog is always Antiquorum, but it’s also where the most deals are to be had. For those who don’t remember, Antiquorum used to be the dominant force on the market, finding the rarest pieces and setting record prices. Their close ties to the late Philippe Stern led to many of the watches landing in the Patek Museum.
Now, they’re the auction house offering almost half of the total lots being offered in Geneva this fall—603—which means the business model has changed. But no other auction house seems to care about affordable vintage watches anymore, so that’s why it’s worth the time to dig through the catalog every season. That includes this co-branded Valjoux 886-powered triple calendar chronograph, bearing Antiquorum’s name, a rare 1930s Robert Cart jump hour wristwatch in white gold, and stuff like this multi-tone black dial Omega ref. CK 2077.
As Ben mentioned in his article, I have to emphasize that Antiquorum has picked up on some awesome school watches. They’re offering about 20 of these pieces, made by students at a variety of watchmaking schools from the 1920s to 1970s, that often match or exceed the quality of the same models made by the brands. And by that I mean that yes, you can pick up a watch that’s a Patek in everything but name (essentially a ref. 2509 “Vacuum” Borgel case) for potentially a great deal. Same for a Zenith or other chronograph brands from the 1970s. For pocket watches, check out the ones with Niello silver cases and this perpetual calendar from the Vallée de Joux.
For every other auction house, I group watches by type, but at Antiquorum, it’s always kind of scattershot. They, of course, are cognizant of the market, so there are a few Journe (including a brass movement Octa Calendrier), but that’s not what I usually look for. There are a few shaped Patek Philippe watches, including a ref. 1450 “Top Hat” in yellow gold and a longer, curved, hooded-lug watch in platinum with diamond indices for the American market. The ref. 2422 in platinum, with an estimate of CHF 10,000 to 15,000, is another potentially great buy and will wear a bit better, larger than the previous two.
Yet again, Ben spoiled my pick of this really attractive, oversized Leonidas split with a black dial, so that watch will probably go well above the CHF 20,000 to 30,000 estimate (though I would imagine it was bound to anyway). For something a bit more expensive but that scratches a similar itch (and looks quite attractive), this matte gilt black dial Rolex ref. 6238 in steel, apparently for the Peruvian Air Force, caught my eye. There seem to be quite a few 6238 black dials around lately; this one carries an estimate starting at CHF 80,000.
Aside from the ruby-hour markers on certain watches, Saudi Arabian dials have never been my thing, but there are some particularly odd and cool references with King Saud and King Faisal’s portraits on the dial. Antiquorum has four of them, all from the same Swiss family. The original owner worked in trade in the Middle East and received these as gifts, which is about the best case for verifying originality. Out of the four, I like the Universal Genève examples: one square one in pink gold and a really cool pink gold disco volante with an enamel dial.
Sticking with pink gold, this looks to be one of the nicest Vacheron Constantin ref. 4560 triple calendars I’ve seen in a while. With strong hallmarks, and at CHF 8,000 to start, it’s worth throwing a bid in and following your heart. The same could be said for this AP, which was the first automatic tourbillon model ever made, and prices usually go far higher than the CHF 15,000 low estimate (though don’t forget the buyer’s premium).
Finally, there’s the stuff that only Antiquorum seems to do regularly, but we often overlook. Automatons and enameled pocket watches are so esoteric that few experts on the market are worth consulting. You’re usually flying blind (a pun, considering some are bird boxes), but you don’t have to be Kelly Clarkson to get a singing bird (or rather, not get one). Amidst the sundials and other antique offerings is an adorable silver singing bird box starting at CHF 2,000, though I don’t know the condition of the bellows and automaton action. At CHF 70,000, you can start bidding on a beautifully enameled snuff box with a hidden watch and musical movement made by Henri Neisser in 1815.
However, if you asked me to pick something—gun to my head—I’d want it to be this one. Get it? It’s the gun I’d want at my head. … Bueller? This Moulinié Bautte perfume sprinkler and watch, made as a flintlock pistol. The pistol was made for the Chinese market and has beautiful enameling, pearls, and an ingenious movement where cocking the hammers winds the mechanism, lowers the triggers, and allows “firing” the barrels, which eject gold lotus flowers that sprinkle perfume. Verifying and servicing these objects is left to a handful of people in the world (I know none of them, and no one will tell me who to talk to), so you better know what you’re getting into, especially with a starting price of CHF 220,000.
For more on Antiquorum’s “Important Modern & Vintage Timepieces Auction,” visit their website.
