REVIEW: WATCHES: 2025

Luxury was the order of the day for Watches as the first sale of the year on 26 March illustrated, with its roll call of five-figure prices and leading brands.

The auction as a whole offered one of the strongest catalogues Noonans’ Watches department has created, with world-beating timepieces from the top luxury brands, including Patek Philippe, Rolex, Cartier, IWC, Audemars Piguet and Breitling, to name just a few.

The star lot was a Rolex lady’s gold and diamond-set Pearlmaster automatic wristwatch that sold for £26,000. Other leading highlights included another eight watches that individually sold for at least five figures.
These included a c.2011 Breitling, limited edition gold and diamond-set automatic chronograph wristwatch with mother-of-pearl dial and date – a Breitling for Bentley design – which made £17,500.

Also faring well was a rare, c.1920 gold oversized single button Omega chronograph that more than doubled top estimate at £15,000; a gold semi-skeletonised wristwatch with satellite hour display from Audemars Piguet dating to c.1995, which made £14,000; and an oversized square titanium skeletonised tourbillon wristwatch from The Golden Square collection by Roger Dubuis, dating to c.2010. It displays a striking intricate skeletonised dial that gives an unobstructed view of the mesmerizing tourbillon mechanism. The hammer price was £12,000.

Other lots that stood out included a Breitling for Bentley c.2006 gold automatic chronograph wristwatch that also made £12,000; as did a rare gold twenty dollar Patek Philippe coin watch dating to 1974; while a c.2006 Collection Privée Cartier dual dial time zone Tank A Vis wristwatch, took £11,000.

Another Cartier wristwatch – a c.2012 pink gold Calibre De Cartier – took a top-estimate of £10,000; and a Breitling Flying B for Bentley gold and diamond-set rectangular wristwatch dating to c.2010 also made £10,000.

The leading watch in the 17 June auction was a Cartier gold rectangular purse / travel timepiece, from around 1955. The 18ct gold case was of ribbed design, with a hinged panel released by the sapphire cabochon pushers to reveal the dial, hallmark and maker’s mark. In its presentation case, it took £5,500.

Taking the honours on 16 September was a rare gold twenty dollar coin watch by Patek Philippe dating to 1974. Coin watches were first produced in the 1920s. These rare ultra-thin timepieces are made of two actual coins to construct the outer case. Prestigious brands such as, Cartier, Patek Philippe, Piaget, Corum and Vacheron Constantin have produced examples of these interesting, collectable, novelty timepieces over the years. The extract from the archives confirms the date of manufacture of 1974 for this example and a date of sale of October 16th, 1979. It sold for £11,000.

In the same sale a c.1995 Patek Philippe Calatrava gold manual winding Ref 5096 wristwatch of 18 jewels, stamped with the Seal of Geneva, sold over estimate at £9,500.

Rolex came to the fore in the 25 November auction, with a rare c.2009 white gold automatic chronograph wristwatch with bracelet, with Daytona ‘Panda Dial’ selling for £18,000. One of the most desirable and luxurious models the company have produced, it was made in the Rolex in-house foundry.

One of the most spectacular pieces in the sale was a Breitling Flying B white gold and diamond-set rectangular wristwatch with jumping hours. Dating to around 2011, the Flying B model was part of the longstanding collaboration between Bentley Motors and Breitling. It was named after the ‘Winged B’ emblem of Bentley which represents the exhilaration of motion and harks back to Bentley’s background in designing fighter plane engines during the World War I. A rectangular timepiece, it is a perfect example of unparalleled luxury and elegance with its unusual jumping hour hand feature and diamond-set dial and case. It had its chronometer certificate, diamond certificate, spare links and presentation case and sold for £17,000.

A circa 1990 Cartier Panthère wristwatch, complete with secret signature at X on the dial and I8ct gold case and brick-link bracelet, took £9,500.

“Quality, precision, craftsmanship and sheer inspirational design have been the hallmarks of what Noonans have to offer on the watches from in 2025 and we look forward to going even further in our search for the best in 2026,” said Watches specialist Joanne Lewis.