Radar Horológico — 10 November
The day in brief
Phillips has published the full catalogue for The New York Watch Auction: XV, which on 5 and 6 December will be, according to the auction house, the highest-value watch auction ever held in the United States, with a total low estimate above $25 million. In his column, Nuno Margalha, director of the IPR, reads the 2026 GPHG results as a prize for the watchmaker's hand. In Geneva, the city's watchmaking guide adds German-Italian and Spanish-Brazilian Portuguese editions.
Phillips announces the most valuable watch auction ever held in the United States
Phillips, in association with Bacs & Russo, released on 9 November the full catalogue for The New York Watch Auction: XV, with 196 lots and a total low estimate above $25 million. It is led by F.P. Journe's Tourbillon Souverain "Souscription" No. 13, one of the 20 watches sold by subscription in 1999 to finance the launch of the brand, estimated in excess of $1 million, alongside a 1950 Patek Philippe ref. 1518, a yellow gold Rolex "Paul Newman" Daytona and a Philippe Dufour Simplicity. The sale also includes the third edition of TimeForArt, with 26 unique pieces offered without reserve for the benefit of the Swiss Institute. Read the full story.
Column: the 2026 GPHG rewarded the watchmaker's hand
In his column on the 2026 GPHG, Nuno Margalha, director of the Instituto Português de Relojoaria, argues that this year's results rewarded the watchmaker who masters the movement from end to end: the Aiguille d'Or went to Rexhep Rexhepi's hand-wound chronograph, with a Grand Feu enamel dial made in his own workshop, and three prizes honoured those who worked on the regulating organ, from Mathieu Cleguer to Dominique Renaud and Ferdinand Berthoud. The column notes that the big houses also won, but with research and craft pieces, and recalls that the 84 nominated watches are in Geneva until 15 November before moving to London from 18 to 23 November. Read the full story.
Geneva Watchmaking Guide adds German-Italian and Spanish-Portuguese editions
One year after its launch, the Geneva Watchmaking Guide, created by the Fondation Haute Horlogerie and the Geneva Tourism & Conventions Foundation, adds two new bilingual editions, German-Italian and Spanish-Brazilian Portuguese, alongside the original French-English one. Its 175 pages cover Geneva's watchmaking heritage, the industry's economic weight, the great houses and the technical side of the craft. Each edition costs CHF 30 and is sold at the tourist information centre in Cornavin station, in hotels, museums and bookshops in Geneva and online; the guide will also be present at the major watchmaking events organised by the FHH. "The goal is to make watchmaking culture accessible to everyone," said Aurélie Streit, Vice-President of the FHH.
Find out more on the organisation's website.
What deserves attention
The echoes of the GPHG keep coming: Frederique Constant highlights its two nominations, the Classic Worldtimer Manufacture in the Petite Aiguille category and the Classics Moneta Handwinding in the Challenge category, Chopard its two prizes, and Minase and Schwarz Etienne their participation in this year's selection. The 84 nominated watches can be seen at the Musée d'Art et d'Histoire in Geneva until 15 November, and in London from 18 to 23 November. After Phillips' record in Geneva, the New York sale on 5 and 6 December will show whether demand for the rarest watches holds up as strongly outside Switzerland.
Eletta puts two new lines on sale on 16 November: Memory, for women, with a 20 mm square case, an extra strap and a pair of earrings in each gift box, and Heritage, for men, with a 42 mm steel case and a sunburst dial.
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