written by:
small-luxury-world

published:
2020-05-19

categories:
auction, Cartier, Daniel Roth, Patek Philippe, watches

Delights from the Antiquorum Auction in Hong Kong on 10 May 2020 – with a few surprises

Crazy watches for crazy times are the winner of the day …



Who would have anticipated this: “hot (traditional) collector´s pieces” didn´t even get a bid … and (at least) one lucky person made a great deal on an eclectic piece. Just some musings about a recent auction at Antiquorum HK (May 10, 2020), nothing more nothing less.

Antiquorum Auction May 2020 Patek Philippe Ref. 2554 Manta Ray Cartier Crash Watch Daniel Roth Tourbillon Regulator



Extravagances by Cartier, or simply eclectic pieces for the happy few, have been the winner of the day.

  • Lot 191 – Cartier, “Baignoire Allongée, 1991” (LE400) got a solid bid – more than two times above the estimate.
  • Lot 192 – Cartier, “Crash Watch, 1991” (LE400) got a very strong bid – more than four times above the estimate.

Antiquorum Auction May 2020 Cartier Baignoire Allongée Watch 1991(Cartier Baignoire Allongée, 1991 (LE400))

Antiquorum Auction May 2020 Cartier Crash Watch 1991(Cartier Crash Watch, 1991 (LE400))



Lucky winners in both cases I would say.


The king of auctions Patek Philippe was a surprise to me, because there had been some serious “collector´s pieces” on offer. Some of them even felt like a bargain … and others I thought (at least) reflect the market. Well, none of those got a bid!

  • Lot 242 – Patek Philippe Ref. 2554 “Manta Ray”, is/used to be a must-have for quite a few collectors!?
  • Lot 249 – Patek Philippe Ref. 5100R, 10-day power reserve, limited to 750 pieces, a highly collectible piece for the connoisseur isn´t it.
  • Lot 275 – Patek Philippe Ref. 5235G, a regulator with annual calendar, with the cal. 31-260 REG QA, which was produced as part of Patek Philippe’s Advanced Research series between 2013 and 2019. An eclectic piece for several reasons.
  • Lot 277 – Patek Philippe Ref. 5975J “Chronograph 175th Anniversary”, LE 400. One of my favourites from the anniversary collection. Not for the crowd and maybe not even for most chronograph collectors, but an eclectic choice for sure.

Antiquorum Auction May 2020 Patek Philippe Ref. 2554 Manta Ray (Patek Philippe Ref. 2554 “Manta Ray”)

Antiquorum Auction May 2020 Patek Philippe Ref. 5100R 10-day power reserve (Patek Philippe Ref. 5100R, 10-day power reserve)

Antiquorum Auction May 2020 Patek Philippe Ref. 5100R annual calendar Advanced Research (Patek Philippe Ref. 5235G Advanced Research)

Antiquorum Auction May 2020 Patek Philippe Ref. 5975J Chronograph 175th Anniversary(Patek Philippe Ref. 5975J “Chronograph 175th Anniversary”)

Last but not least a kind of “hidden gem” or just a “highly collectible piece for the connoisseur”, it´s up to you. From my point of view even the estimate didn´t reflect the (real) value of the piece, not to speak about the relatively low result at the auction.

  • Lot 295 – Daniel Roth BB 2187, one-minute tourbillon regulator with a double dial – reverse side shows the date of the month and a 42h power-reserve indication, from the mid 90´s.

Daniel Roth Tourbillon Regulator Double Face(Daniel Roth Tourbillon Regulator Double Face)



Maybe it´s not the piece to impress your neighbour or Mr & Mrs Smith, but an eclectic choice for sure. My sincere congrats to the winner of this lot and I like to imagine him/her with a big grin on the face.

Side note by Ornatus Mundi: I cannot really put my hand on why the results were what they are – Cartier and Patek essentially switched their positions, and masterpieces which require a bit more knowledge and experience seemed to be reserved for those who actually have such qualities. Overall, a result which was unexpected – is it a sign of the times, i.e., a ‘wrong time, wrong place’ situation? An exception or something like the ‘new normal’? Time will tell!

Whatever it is, it was remarkable in many ways…

small-luxury-world


P.S.: All images © Antiquorum 2020

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