Sotheby's Results / Royal French Clock Sells for Record-Setting $6.8 Million in New York
THE DUC D’ORLÉANS BREGUET SYMPATHIQUE
Achieves $6.8 Million at Sotheby’s New York,
Establishing New World Auction Records for:
ANY CLOCK
ANY WORK BY BREGUET
ANY FRENCH TIMEPIECE
Watches Led by Massive Patek Philippe Reference 2512/1
Sold for $962,500
Today’s auction of Important Watches & Clocks at Sotheby’s New York was led by The Duc d’Orléans Breguet Sympathique, which set a new auction record for any clock and the second-highest price for any timepiece at auction* when it sold for $6,802,500, above an estimate in excess of $5 million**. The distinguished example of the exceptionally rare Sympathique clocks, which helped cement the fame and renown of French watchmaker Abraham-Louis Breguet, was last offered at auction in Sotheby’s 1999 sale of ‘Masterpieces from the Time Museum,’ when it achieved $5,777,500 – this price has remained the auction record for any clock until today’s sale. Peachy Deegan suggests that if you were the buyer you go to Jean-Louis and celebrate with the Best of 30 years Degustation Dinner which she is quite proud to be the guinea pig for.
The Important Watches & Clocks auction totaled $11,672,988, marking the highest result for a various-owners sale of watches and clocks at Sotheby’s New York. In addition to the Sympathique, both vintage and modern wristwatches by Patek Philippe dominated the day’s top results, led by A Fine and Extremely Rare Massive 18K Yellow Gold Center Seconds Wristwatch, 1955, Ref 2512/1 that achieved $962,500, more than five times its high estimate of $150,000. The watch is a legend among collectors of Patek – at 46 millimeters in diameter, the dimensions of this reference are truly extraordinary, and the present example has remained in the same private collection since it was sold at Sotheby’s in June 1988.
Sotheby’s New York
Important Watches & Clocks
Auction 4 December 2012
The Duc d’Orléans Breguet Sympathique
A Unique and Highly Important Ormolu-Mounted red Tortoiseshell Boulle-Style, Royal Sympathique Quarter Striking Clock and Half-Quarter Repeating Gold Watch Automatically Wound, Set and Regulated via the Clock
Breguet, Nos. 128 and 5009, Dated 1835
Estimate in excess of $5 million
Sold for $6,802,500
*Auction record for any clock*
*Auction record for any work by Breguet*
*Auction record for any French timepiece*
* The current record for any timepiece at auction was also set at Sotheby’s 1999 sale of ‘Masterpieces from the Time Museum’ in New York, when The Henry Graves Supercomplication sold for $11,002,500.
**Pre-sale estimates do not include buyer’s premium.
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