ELA charity sale raises CHF 501,400 as Christie's sets its watch auction record

Abyss by Cédric Johner, sold for CHF 61,440 in the Watches for ELA sale. © Watches for ELA

The 21 unique watches of Watches for ELA, auctioned by Christie's in Geneva on 9 November, raised CHF 501,400 at the hammer, around 615,000 dollars, for the European Leukodystrophies Association. On the same day, the Rare Watches sale, of which the charity auction was part, totalled CHF 47,824,592, the highest figure ever for a Christie's watch auction.

The most sought-after lot was the Cartier Pasha that Zinedine Zidane wore for decades, the former footballer's first watch to go under the hammer. Offered without reserve and estimated at CHF 10,000 to 20,000, it was knocked down for CHF 80,000, four times the top estimate; with the buyer's premium, the price reached CHF 102,400. Zidane has supported ELA since 2000, and the Pasha accounts for about 16% of the total raised.

The independent watchmakers also beat their estimates. According to Oracle of Time, with the buyer's premium, Felipe Pikullik's Mondphase I Skeleton sold for CHF 64,000 and Cédric Johner's Abyss for CHF 61,440, above its estimate of CHF 20,000 to 40,000. Kollokium's Projekt 01 reached CHF 24,320, three times its top estimate of CHF 8,000.

Kollokium's Projekt 01, with the La Joux-Perret G101 calibre and Ivy Nussbaumer's illustration on the caseback. © Watches for ELA

At the Rare Watches sale, held at the Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues, every lot was sold. According to Christie's, bidders registered from 66 countries, and 40% of registrants belong to the Millennial and Gen Z generations.

Since 1992, ELA has funded 601 research programmes on leukodystrophies, rare genetic diseases that affect the brain, totalling 51.9 million euros.

Find out more on the initiative's website.