A unique, brand-new Grand Seiko fetched US$478,800 at a Phillips auction in New York on Sunday, setting a world record price for a timepiece by the 62-year-old Japanese luxury brand.
The timepiece from 2022, with reference number SLGT001, is the first Grand Seiko watch that combines a tourbillon and a constant-force mechanism as one unit on a single axis, a concept movement that the watchmaker has been refining since 2020.Â
The model was named Kodo Constant Force Tourbillon. Kodo means heartbeat in Japanese.Â
A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the watch, accompanied by an exclusive trip to Japan to meet its creators, were donated to Children’s Heart Foundation, an Illinois-based organization dedicated to funding congenital heart-defect research.Â
Phillips’ 179-lot watch sale in New York over the weekend realized a total of US$21.1 million, with a 100% sell-through rate.
F.P. Journe Tourbillon Souverain in platinum with a pink gold dial sold for US$1.24 million.
Courtesy of Phillips
The highest price achieved at the sale was a timepiece by F.P. Journe in platinum with a pink gold dial. Believed to be one of only six Tourbillon Souverain watches by the Swiss watchmaker with handmade pink gold dials, the 1999 wristwatch sold for US$1.24 million, more than quadrupling its presale estimate.
The sale also included the inaugural edition of TimeForArt, an initiative launched by New York-based nonprofit Swiss Institute to benefit contemporary art through watch auctions.Â
Seventeen watches donated by various brands were either collaborations with leading contemporary artists or world-renowned artisans, examples of innovative craftsmanship, or limited-edition timepieces, according to Phillips. The auction raised a total of US$1.2 million for the Swiss Institute.
Credit: marketwatch.com