Frederic Watrelot, Senior Director, Senior Specialist – Watches at Sotheby’s Dubai emphasis the importance of collecting timepieces in the Middle East and the treasures to be discovered
Q: What makes the auction market and especially in the watches sector interesting in this region?
Collectors in the region are passionate about high-end and rare watches and don’t hesitate to wear them on a daily basis. Because of the various nationalities present in the region, the market embraces the full spectrum of tastes, from vintage to contemporary watches. There is a long tradition of collecting timepieces in the Middle East and there are a lot of treasures left to be discovered. Q: Do you feel that the Middle East consumer is well acquainted with the culture of the auction business in general?
Important collectors have been taking part in our auctions around the world for decades and they are very familiar with the auction world. Sotheby’s has also run many initiatives in the region to explain how the bidding process and the advantage of buying at auction (mock-up auctions, lectures etc.) The auction business model has also evolved dramatically in recent years, with online bidding and online sales playing a crucial role. For the savvy collectors and the younger generation, bidding and buying online is very natural. Beside, we also offer private sales. Q: In the last couple of years, we’ve seen an increase in the number of watch auctions in this region, while the luxury market is slowing down. How do you describe this trend and where is the benefit of the consumer here?
Auctions are very often the only place where you can acquire rare, unique and high-quality timepieces at a fair price and benefit from the expertise of a specialist. It is no so much “the latest” products that are attractive but the rare ones. Anyone can get the latest model in a retail store (albeit not sport Rolex/Patek/AP models) but how cool is it to get a watch from your birthyear or a handbag from an older collection. I think the region is slowly shifting from a trend follower to trend setters. For the few very sought-after models mentioned above, auctions are a great alternative to find them when ADs ask for years of patience. Q: Talking about our region and mainly the GCC market, what opportunities do you see here?
As mentioned above, there are treasures that are still to be found in families vaults, often brand-new-still-in-the-box (or otherwise called New Old Stock or “NOS”) pieces that have become extremely sought- after over the years. Palace and company gifts are a regional tradition in the M-East and many countries such as the UAE, Oman or Saudi Arabia hold hundreds if not thousands of rare watches which National Emblems, Royal Crest and other company logos. These pieces have become highly collectible. Q: With the increase trend in the e-commerce /Digital platforms evolution, do you feel that this new IT trend/platform would affect your auction business?
Sotheby’s has been at the forefront of the digital revolution. We constantly innovate to offer collectors new ways to buy and sell watches. For example, we introduced a new format of Weekly sale in April and now have four weekly sales a week. In parallel to online sales, we maintain seasonal highly curated live auctions in HK, NY, London and Geneva, focusing on exceptional watches. The next Important Watches” auction is scheduled in Geneva on November 11th. Q: Can you list some of the high value pieces sold via your operation in the UAE? * Last three Dubai Auctions (2018/2019): • Audemars Piguet - Royal Oak skeletonized perpetual calendar in stainless steel - World record at the time) - Royal Oak Concept Tourbillon GMT in titanium - Royal Oak Off Shore Barichello II in platinum • Patek Philippe: - “Ibn Saud” : Ref. 2481 from 1957, a pink gold and ruby-set wristwatch with enamel dial and rose gold with Gay Freres bracelet and clasp. Made to honor Abdul Aziz “Ibn Said”, the Kind of Saudi Arabia - Grande Complication diamond-set platinum perpetual calendar chronograph ref.5271P - Celestial platinum ref.6102P - Nautilus 18k RG chronograph with bracelet ref.5980/1R • Rolex: - 1968 Daytona Paul Newman ref.6241 - 1978 GMT Master ref.1675 with Mohd bin Rashid Al Maktoum dial - 1988 Explorer II ref.16550 with Hafez Al-Assad dial - 1984 Submariner “COMEX” ref.16800
• MB&F: - HM6RT limited edition tourbillon in rose gold • Kari Voutilainen: - 2-Eight 18k RG - Twenty-8 18k RG • Richard Mille: - Felipe Massa RM011 AO RG-TZP-Z Yellow - Felipe Massa RM004 AN CA RHS Red - Tourbillon RM02 18k WG • Haute Joaillerie” - Vacheron Constantin 18k WG bracelet-watch “Lady Kalla” set with 30cts of emerald-cut diamonds - Piaget Baguette-set tourbillon Emperador - Audemars Piguet platinum bracelet-watch “No.1”, set with 47cts of baguette-cut diamonds - Chopard tourbillon set with 18cts of baguette-cut diamonds |