This year has been remarkable in many ways. I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve said to myself, “Well, I never thought I’d see that happen in my lifetime.” Despite these surprises, the watch industry has demonstrated a remarkable stability. Sure, we lost a few trade shows. But there was also a regular flow of new releases from a wide range of brands, despite some early signs to the contrary. Equally impressive was the resilience of the auction industry. In this article, we investigate why high-value vintage watches have appeared to be pandemic-proof at a time when most segments of the wider industry are in steep decline. Another year of broken records at watch auctions, despite broken economies everywhere I remember watching the Phillips Geneva Watch Auction XI live stream back in May and marvelling at what they were pulling off. There were people gathered together, in person, bidding on some truly impressive lots while the pandemic was still roiling economies worldwide. Equally impressive was the result: more than CHF 30 million in revenue, all lots sold, a world record for a Patek Philippe 1518 at CHF 3.4 million, and a pair of F.P. Journe early references sold for…
The post Are high-value vintage watches pandemic-proof? The auction market results from 2020 say yes… appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.
