Looking back at the auction year of 2021, there were a lot of surprising firsts and even records to be remembered. An overriding theme of this past year was online sales, due to the coronavirus, yes – but also reflecting the larger theme of digitalization in the luxury auction market. We wrote about some of the first and records this year, three of them really standing out when we look back on the different sales.

$7.6-Million Philippe Dufour Grande et Petite Sonnerie No. 3

The first one was not sold via auction, but is certainly the kind of timepiece that could have been…and very well might be the next time around. This Philippe Dufour Grande et Petite Sonnerie was sold by A Collected Man for a whopping $7.63 million back in August! It is the third Grande et Petite Sonnerie made by the elite Swiss watchmaker, a model that originally sold for a fraction of the price. Only 8 in total were ever made, with this specific watch going to the Sultan of Brunei. This was among his first works when he launched his brand in the early 1990s, after a long career in watchmaking. A pretty good reflection of what 2021 watch sales looked like.

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$3.4-Million Omega Speedmaster ‘Broad Arrow’ ref. 2915-1

The most expensive Omega ever sold! A Speedmaster, of course, but more specifically a Speedmaster ‘Broad Arrow’ ref. 2915-1 with a nearly perfectly brown tropical dial. The Speedmaster reference 2915-1 or CK2915 was the first chronograph to feature a tachymeter on the bezel instead of the on the dial and was produced only for two years between 1957 and 1959. This would have been the very first Speedmaster reference, featuring the 17-jewel column wheel chronograph Omega Caliber 321.

$6.5-Million Patek Philippe Nautilus for Tiffany ref. 5711/1A-018

And for the most controversial, the Patek Philippe Nautilus for Tiffany ref. 5711/1A-018. They said the 5711 was discontinued and then they released ‘one more’ limited edition in Tiffany blue. Meant to be exclusively for retailers, sold at a price of $52,635, it was auctioned by Phillips for $6.5 million the day after the release was announced. With the $7.6-million Philippe Dufour selling in August, this was quite the way to top off a year full of ludicrously high prices.

In my opinion, 2021 was a year of both deserving, rare timepieces being sold at worthwhile prices, but also largely hype-driven sales. While more and more gems are coming out of the woodworks under these conditions, the direction the watch market is going in is clear – prices are going up.

By: Andres Ibarguen