Time Not Right for Bonhams' Watch and Clock Auction
Thursday, December 18, 2008
A quarter of goods offered failed to sell
From Bloomberg today:
Bonhams, the U.K. auctioneer of fine art, failed to sell a quarter of the timepieces in a London watch auction yesterday as the financial crisis saps demand for luxury goods.
The auctioneer raised $1.6 million in the Bond Street sale, the company said in an e-mailed statement today. That was 74 percent of the amount aimed for.
The results may signal demand for high-end watches is wavering after having been more resilient than demand for other luxury products recently. Christie's International in November met its goal for a watch auction that raised 17.9 million Swiss francs ($26 million), while a jewelry sale by the auction house the same week failed to sell half the lots.
Exports of Swiss watches wholesaling for 3,000 francs or more declined in November for the first month in at least two years, the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry said today.
Still, the top 10 lots sold in Bonhams' auction met or exceeded estimates. They included an 18th-century Patek Philippe that shows the phase of the moon for 93,600 pounds and a 1966 "Paul Newman" Rolex for 30,000 pounds.
Bonhams said it also sold a pocket watch for 3,600 pounds that belonged to Corsican revolutionary Pasquale Paoli, who betrayed Napoleon to help the British.
From Bloomberg today:
Bonhams, the U.K. auctioneer of fine art, failed to sell a quarter of the timepieces in a London watch auction yesterday as the financial crisis saps demand for luxury goods.
The auctioneer raised $1.6 million in the Bond Street sale, the company said in an e-mailed statement today. That was 74 percent of the amount aimed for.
The results may signal demand for high-end watches is wavering after having been more resilient than demand for other luxury products recently. Christie's International in November met its goal for a watch auction that raised 17.9 million Swiss francs ($26 million), while a jewelry sale by the auction house the same week failed to sell half the lots.
Exports of Swiss watches wholesaling for 3,000 francs or more declined in November for the first month in at least two years, the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry said today.
Still, the top 10 lots sold in Bonhams' auction met or exceeded estimates. They included an 18th-century Patek Philippe that shows the phase of the moon for 93,600 pounds and a 1966 "Paul Newman" Rolex for 30,000 pounds.
Bonhams said it also sold a pocket watch for 3,600 pounds that belonged to Corsican revolutionary Pasquale Paoli, who betrayed Napoleon to help the British.
posted by Chris and Frank at 6:23 PM
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