Rare Patek Philippe watch sells for $17.6mn

A highly sought-after Patek Philippe wristwatch has once again sold for a record price at auction, fetching 14.19 million Swiss francs ($17.6 million), auction house Phillips announced on Sunday.

The watch, a Patek Philippe Perpetual Calendar Chronograph Ref. 1518 from 1943, had previously made headlines in 2016 when it sold for 11 million francs — then the highest price ever paid for a wristwatch. Its value has now risen even further.

What makes this model particularly rare is that it is one of only four known to have been made in stainless steel. Most Ref. 1518 watches were produced in yellow or pink gold, making the stainless steel versions far more desirable to collectors.

Although its earlier record was surpassed in 2017 when actor Paul Newman’s Rolex Daytona sold for $17.8 million, and later in 2019 when a Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime sold for $31 million, the latest sale confirms the Ref. 1518 as one of the most historically important watches ever created.

The auction lasted around nine and a half minutes and featured five competing bidders, with the winning bid placed by phone. Many prominent collectors and watch experts attended the sale, held at the Hotel President in Geneva.

Phillips described the Ref. 1518 as the kind of piece that represents the “ultimate achievement” for a serious watch collector. Introduced in 1941, it was the first perpetual calendar chronograph to be produced in series.

Of the approximately 280 Ref. 1518 models made, the vast majority were gold. Only four stainless steel versions are known to exist, and the reason Patek Philippe chose to produce them remains unknown.

The auction house called it a watch of “almost mythical status,” combining historical importance, exceptional craftsmanship and extreme rarity.

Across the two-day event, Phillips sold 207 lots for a total of 66.8 million Swiss francs, which it said is the highest result ever recorded for a watch auction. A total of 1,886 bidders from 72 countries participated.