Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo opens its autumn 2026 live auction season in Geneva on 7 and 8 November with The Geneva Watch Auction: XXIV, a sale of 220 timepieces at the Hotel President. The house announced its highlights on 15 September 2026, led by a Patek Philippe Ref. 1436 split-seconds chronograph in stainless steel estimated at CHF 2–4 million, a newly discovered Rolex Ref. 6062 “Stelline” and two rare F.P. Journe Chronomètre à Résonance.
The 11 highlights carry a combined estimate of CHF 6,250,000 to CHF 12,500,000, about US$7.66M to US$15.31M. Before the sale, they travel to Dubai, New York, Singapore, Hong Kong, Riyadh and London.
The sale at a glance
| Auction | The Geneva Watch Auction: XXIV, Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo |
| Dates | 7 and 8 November 2026 |
| Venue | Hotel President, Quai Wilson 47, 1211 Geneva |
| Lots | 220 timepieces |
| Geneva preview | 4–7 November 2026 |
| Middle East previews | Dubai, 1–3 October · Riyadh, 20–21 October |
| Estimates | Exclude buyer’s premium; results include hammer price and premium |
The 11 highlights and their estimates
| Lot | Watch | Year | Estimate (CHF) | Approx. (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 95 | Patek Philippe Ref. 1436 Split-Seconds Chronograph in Stainless Steel | 1945 | 2,000,000–4,000,000 | US$2.45M–US$4.90M |
| 7 | F.P. Journe Chronomètre à Résonance “Régence”, Platinum | 2002 | 1,000,000–2,000,000 | US$1.22M–US$2.45M |
| 20 | Rolex Cosmograph Daytona Ref. 6241 “John Player Special”, 14k Yellow Gold | circa 1969 | 800,000–1,600,000 | US$980,000–US$1.96M |
| 129 | Rolex Ref. 6062 “Stelline”, 18k Yellow Gold | circa 1952 | 600,000–1,200,000 | US$735,000–US$1.47M |
| 161 | F.P. Journe Chronomètre à Résonance Tokyo Boutique, Titanium | 2007 | 400,000–800,000 | US$490,000–US$980,000 |
| 205 | Patek Philippe World Time Ref. 605HU “North America”, Cloisonné Enamel | 1950 | 300,000–600,000 | US$367,000–US$735,000 |
| 61 | Richard Miklosch Flying Tourbillon Pocket Watch, Silver | circa 1985 | 300,000–600,000 | US$367,000–US$735,000 |
| 32 | Roger Smith Series 1, White and Pink Gold Unique Piece | 2020 | 300,000–600,000 | US$367,000–US$735,000 |
| 16 | Patek Philippe Ref. 2497 Retailed by Gumbiner, 18k Yellow Gold | 1953 | 250,000–500,000 | US$306,000–US$612,000 |
| 216 | Voutilainen Vingt-8 Inversé, Tantalum Unique Piece | 2020 | 200,000–400,000 | US$245,000–US$490,000 |
| 91 | Ferdinand Berthoud Marine Chronometer No. 46, Brass | 1790 | 100,000–200,000 | US$122,000–US$245,000 |
US dollar figures use the European Central Bank rate of 14 September 2026 (CHF 1 = US$ 1.2248) and are indicative only.
Lot 95: Patek Philippe Ref. 1436 Split-Seconds Chronograph in Stainless Steel
Estimate: CHF 2,000,000–4,000,000 (about US$2.45M–4.90M) · 1945
The top estimate of the sale belongs to a Patek Philippe Ref. 1436, the first split-seconds chronograph the manufacture produced in series. Launched in 1938, the reference ran for some 33 years, with scholarship placing total production at around 140 watches, most of them in precious metal.
Steel is the exception. Only two stainless steel examples are known to keep both their original case and original dial, each in a different configuration. This 1945 watch pairs a silvered dial with applied steel hour markers and a tachymeter scale; the crown itself operates the split-seconds function.
The case keeps its thick lugs and original proportions, with no service marks inside the caseback, and a Patek Philippe Extract from the Archives confirms its production in 1945 and its sale in 1949.
Lot 7: F.P. Journe Chronomètre à Résonance “Régence”, Platinum
Estimate: CHF 1,000,000–2,000,000 (about US$1.22M–2.45M) · 2002
Made for the Geneva retailer Les Ambassadeurs, this early F.P. Journe Chronomètre à Résonance was planned as part of a five-watch series. Only three hand-engraved “Régence à Losange” dials were made, in white, yellow and pink gold, and just two watches were delivered.
No. 212/02 is the only one with a shiny pink gold dial. Its geometric pattern, inspired by French Régence decoration, took up to two days to engrave by hand. The 38mm platinum case houses the early brass calibre 1499.
F.P. Journe exhibited the watch in Geneva in 2020 for the 20th anniversary of the Chronomètre à Résonance. It returns to auction after more than a decade.
Lot 20: Rolex Cosmograph Daytona Ref. 6241 “John Player Special”, 14k Yellow Gold
Estimate: CHF 800,000–1,600,000 (about US$980,000–1.96M) · circa 1969
Among manual-winding Daytonas, the “John Player Special” is one of the rarest configurations: a yellow gold case with the black “Paul Newman” dial that gave the watch its nickname. This Rolex Ref. 6241 is rarer still in 14k gold, a configuration linked to watches made for the American market.
Its serial number, 2’084’348, sits in the same narrow range as several other known 14k examples. The bracelet is stamped “V.C.A”, and an inventory number beneath the lug most likely points to Van Cleef & Arpels as the original retailer.
Last seen at auction in 2018, the watch keeps a notably well-preserved dial.
Lot 129: Rolex Ref. 6062 “Stelline”, 18k Yellow Gold
Estimate: CHF 600,000–1,200,000 (about US$735,000–1.47M) · circa 1952
Discovered in Japan and consigned by its original owner, this Rolex Ref. 6062 is among the best-preserved yellow gold examples of the reference to surface in recent years.
It carries the “Stelline” dial, named after its eight star-shaped hour markers. Launched in 1950, the automatic Ref. 6062 combined a triple calendar and moon phase in a waterproof Oyster case.
The dial shows barely any ageing, with inky blue calendar numerals and crisp day and month apertures. The case keeps its original lines and finishes, and the original Super Oyster crown is still in place.
Lot 161: F.P. Journe Chronomètre à Résonance Tokyo Boutique, Titanium
Estimate: CHF 400,000–800,000 (about US$490,000–980,000) · 2007
Created for the second anniversary of F.P. Journe’s Tokyo boutique, this Chronomètre à Résonance is No. 2 of an edition of 12.
Its 40mm titanium case and ruthenium-coated dial are set against pink gold crowns and hands, a combination found only on this anniversary series. Inside, the hand-wound pink gold calibre 1499.2 uses two balances in resonance and shows two independent times.
It is thought to be only the second watch from the Tokyo edition to appear at auction.
Lot 205: Patek Philippe World Time Ref. 605HU “North America”, Cloisonné Enamel
Estimate: CHF 300,000–600,000 (about US$367,000–735,000) · 1950
Patek Philippe began producing the Ref. 605HU world time pocket watch in 1937, mostly with metal dials and, far more rarely, with cloisonné enamel dials showing maps and other motifs.
A little over a dozen yellow gold examples with cloisonné enamel dials are known, and just five depict North America with a palm tree. The enamel disc carries the full movement number and the “LC” monogram of Louis Cottier, inventor of the world time system, who supervised these watches and made their hands by hand.
An Extract from the Archives confirms production with this dial in 1950 and a sale in 1957.
Lot 61: Richard Miklosch Flying Tourbillon Pocket Watch, Silver
Estimate: CHF 300,000–600,000 (about US$367,000–735,000) · circa 1985
Richard Miklosch is one of the least known and most intriguing figures of modern independent watchmaking. A mathematics teacher, he learned horology in his spare time and made almost every component himself with traditional workshop tools. His work influenced watchmakers including Kari Voutilainen.
Only 14 Miklosch pocket watches are known: 11 tourbillons and three chronometers, each different. This one, most probably unique, combines a flying tourbillon with an Earnshaw-type detent escapement and a regulator-style grained dial.
A single tourbillon carriage could take him four to five months to build, followed by another month of finishing.
Lot 32: Roger Smith Series 1, White and Pink Gold Unique Piece
Estimate: CHF 300,000–600,000 (about US$367,000–735,000) · 2020
Fresh to the market, this unique Series 1 gives Roger Smith’s time-only wristwatch a markedly different look: a white gold case with a pink gold bezel and crown, and an anthracite engine-turned dial with pink gold Eastern Arabic numerals and hands.
Smith has made four watches with mixed-metal cases; this is the only one combining white and pink gold. The hand-wound movement uses the co-axial escapement developed by his mentor George Daniels.
It comes with a second anthracite dial with pink gold Roman numerals, a second set of hands, and documentation confirming it as a unique piece.
Lot 16: Patek Philippe Ref. 2497 Retailed by Gumbiner, 18k Yellow Gold
Estimate: CHF 250,000–500,000 (about US$306,000–612,000) · 1953
Introduced alongside the perpetual calendar chronograph Ref. 2499, the Patek Philippe Ref. 2497 paired a perpetual calendar with centre seconds in a larger, sturdier case than the Ref. 1526 before it.
Production stayed small: some 179 movements across the Ref. 2497 and its waterproof sibling, the Ref. 2438/1, about two thirds of them for the Ref. 2497.
Housed in a Wenger case, this 1953 example has a first-series dial signed by the Manhattan retailer Gumbiner, the only Ref. 2497 known with that name, placed unusually between the calendar apertures and the Patek Philippe signature.
Lot 216: Voutilainen Vingt-8 Inversé, Tantalum Unique Piece
Estimate: CHF 200,000–400,000 (about US$245,000–490,000) · 2020
Introduced in 2019, the Vingt-8 Inversé turned Kari Voutilainen’s calibre 28 around, bringing to the dial side much of the movement normally seen through the caseback. An indirect gear train at the centre keeps the hands turning clockwise. The model won the Men’s Watch Prize at the 2019 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève.
Only 26 were made before the reference was discontinued: 10 in tantalum, eight in titanium and eight in platinum.
This tantalum example was commissioned after the first allocation was filled, with ring and hand colours specified for this watch alone; its movement is engraved “1/1”.
Lot 91: Ferdinand Berthoud Marine Chronometer No. 46, Brass
Estimate: CHF 100,000–200,000 (about US$122,000–245,000) · 1790
Completed in 1790, Ferdinand Berthoud’s Marine Chronometer No. 46 dates from a formative period of precision timekeeping at sea. Built by his pupil Vincent Martin to his specifications, it has a detachable gimballed mounting, so it could be used at sea or as a portable or desk timekeeper.
Its features include a detached pivoted detent escapement, a fusée with maintaining power, anti-friction rollers and Berthoud’s steel-and-copper temperature compensation.
Berthoud documented it himself: the first 22 pages of his Traité des Montres à Longitudes (1792) are devoted to it, and it appears on the frontispiece of his Histoire de la Mesure du Temps (1802). Leather-bound copies of both books come with the lot.
Where to see the highlights, from Dubai to Riyadh
Phillips takes a selection of the highlights on a world tour before the Geneva preview, with two stops in the Middle East: Dubai in early October and Riyadh in late October.
| City | Dates | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| Dubai | 1–3 October | First Floor, Unit FF-269, Financial Center Street, Downtown Dubai |
| New York | 14–16 October | Phillips, 432 Park Avenue |
| Singapore | 16–17 October | The St. Regis Singapore, 29 Tanglin Road |
| Hong Kong | 20–21 October | Phillips, Pedder Building, 12 Pedder Street, Central |
| Riyadh | 20–21 October | Crown & Compass, Metro Boulevard, Al Aqiq |
| London | 22–24 October | Phillips, 30 Berkeley Square |
| Geneva | 4–7 November | Hotel President, Quai Wilson 47 (sale preview) |
A house on a record run
The sale follows a record spring for Phillips Watches, whose Geneva, Hong Kong and New York auctions realised more than US$235 million, with three watches above US$10 million (see our report on the spring results). The department’s 2025 total exceeded US$290 million, its fifth consecutive year above US$200 million.
Phillips also holds the record for the most valuable watch sale, The Geneva Watch Auction: XIV, which realised US$74.5 million in 2021, and the record for a vintage Patek Philippe wristwatch: a Ref. 1518 in stainless steel sold for CHF 14,190,000 on 8 November 2025. The Geneva sale is also where an F.P. Journe Chronomètre à Résonance 022/99R, announced in July, will cross the block.
Frequently asked questions
When and where is the Phillips Geneva Watch Auction XXIV?
On 7 and 8 November 2026 at the Hotel President, Quai Wilson 47, Geneva. The public preview runs from 4 to 7 November at the same address.
How many watches are offered?
220 timepieces, according to Phillips.
What is the most valuable lot?
Lot 95, a Patek Philippe Ref. 1436 split-seconds chronograph in stainless steel from 1945, estimated at CHF 2,000,000–4,000,000 (about US$2.45M–4.90M).
Can collectors see the highlights in the Middle East?
Yes. Phillips shows a selection in Dubai from 1 to 3 October 2026 and in Riyadh on 20 and 21 October 2026.
Do the estimates include the buyer’s premium?
No. Estimates exclude the buyer’s premium; the prices achieved include the hammer price plus the premium.
Source: Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo, press release of 15 September 2026. Images courtesy of Phillips.
