By
Bloomberg
Printed
November 10, 2024
A traditionally vital wristwatch made by impartial French watchmaker Francois-Paul Journe bought for a report at public sale in Geneva, fetching 7.32 million Swiss francs ($8.4 million).
Bloomberg
The value is the best ever paid for a wristwatch made by Swiss-based Journe and probably the most for one by an impartial maker at public sale. The pre-auction worth estimate was in extra of two million francs.
Produced in 1993, and placed on the block by public sale home Phillips in Geneva on Friday, it was the primary wristwatch that Journe ever bought and is taken into account the timepiece that launched his Swiss-based model and his profession as an impartial.
The ‘Tourbillon Souverain à Remontoire d’Egalité’ embodies an “Adam and Eve,” second for the profession of F.P. Journe, his model and enterprise, Phillips auctioneer and senior guide Aurel Bacs mentioned in the course of the sale. The watchmaker himself was among the many crowd of bidders and onlookers.
The report outcome cements Journe’s place within the high echelon of latest impartial watchmakers whose distinctive items can promote for thousands and thousands at public sale.
Earlier than he produced and bought this wristwatch, Journe had solely made pocket watches or created actions and watches for different manufacturers together with Cartier. The primary F.P. Journe wristwatch he made was for himself and was not bought to the general public.
The F.P. Journe model now produces fewer than 1,000 timepieces a yr, with consumers positioned on waitlists that may final for months and even years.
The Phillips public sale additionally featured the primary Rolex Rainbow Daytona chronograph made by the most important Swiss model. The distinctive watch, made in 1994 and encrusted with sapphires and diamonds, bought for five.5 million Swiss francs, together with charges, surpassing the pre-auction estimate of three million francs. That’s the best worth paid at public sale for an computerized winding Rolex Daytona chronograph, Phillips mentioned.
