Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo will hold its first auction in Hong Kong on 1 December 2015 at the Four Seasons Hotel.

The sale will showcase more than 350 exceptional vintage and modern timepieces by some of the world’s most renowned watchmakers, including Patek Philippe, Piaget, Rolex, Audemars Piguet, Vacheron Constantin, Breguet and Cartier. Phillips is one of the world’s leaders in the category of fine watches.

Under the leadership of Edward Dolman, who became Chairman and Chief Executive Officer in 2014, Phillips has embarked on a program of international expansion. In 2014, it opened a new London office in Berkeley Square in the heart of Mayfair.

The following year, the company opened its new Asian headquarters in the Landmark in Central Hong Kong. “We are very excited about our new presence in Hong Kong,” said Edward Dolman. “We feel the time is right for Phillips to enter the Asian market and we aim to develop as an innovative auction house throughout the region. Following our first sale of watches in December 2015, we plan to hold sales of both Western and Asian contemporary art in Hong Kong in autumn 2016. Earlier this year, we appointed Matt Carey-Williams as Deputy Chairman, Europe and Asia, and we are in the process of adding to our team to make sure we continue to strengthen our relationships in the region. Art collecting in Asia has been growing at a tremendous rate, and we are seeing more Asian collectors at our sales in London and New York. We are looking at long-term development and a broadening of future auction categories in Hong Kong.”

Phillips recently named Sam Hines as International Head of Watches. He will head the global team of Watch Specialists from Phillips’ new offices in Hong Kong. With 20 years of experience in the auction world, Sam has held executive positions in New York and Asia since 2008, spearheading many groundbreaking sales of important watches all over the world.

THE HONG KONG WATCH AUCTION: ONE

Sam Hines said, “We are thrilled to bring a new type of sale to Hong Kong, with an emphasis on quality, not quantity. With a total estimate of US$13.5 million, the sale will feature a smaller number of lots, but will have exceptional quality. Hong Kong is a very important watch auction centre, with a long collecting history and many of the world’s most important collectors. We will offer a wide variety of watches, including some historical antiques never been offered at auction in Asia. For example, we will auction an 1829 Breguet openface watch once owned by a Russian princess and a Patek Philippe made in 1924 that won first prize at the Geneva Astronomical Observatory for timing accuracy. Also on offer will be rare vintage watches, including the top lot by Patek Philippe. This is one of only two white gold models of this reference known to exist, so it is extremely rare and expected to generate a huge amount of interest. Also included are some rare pocket watches and important Rolex watches that are now highly sought-after, as well as classic jewelled watches for women.”

Taking the center stage of this first auction is an extremely rare and highly important white gold automatic perpetual wristwatch with moon phases and leap year indicator by Patek Philippe, Reference 3450, manufactured in 1985 (Est. HK$8,000,000-16,000,000/ US$1,000,000-2,000,000, Lot 305). This superb timepiece comes with its original certificate and fitted presentation box and is expected to arouse enormous interest among watch aficionados.