Phillips’s recent replica watch auction in Geneva raked in $74.5 million and set a record for the most lucrative timepiece sale in history. And the house isn’t done yet.
On Thursday, Phillips released the lineup for its upcoming New York auction, which will take place on Saturday, December 11 (lots 1-81) and Sunday, December 12 (lots 82-165) at its new headquarters in Manhattan’s 432 Park Avenue.
Leading the sale is a George Daniels luxury replica watches UK, known as The Edward Hornby Tourbillon Pocket Watch (estimate $600,000-$1,200,000) and named after the lawyer who began amassing a watch collection in the 1930s. He purchased the best copy watch directly from Daniels in 1971. But what makes this piece special, other than the fact that it was made by one of modern watchmaking’s greatest masters, is that every part, with the exception of the balance spring and crystal, was created by hand. It’s the fourth watch that the late Daniels ever created and belongs to the first series of perfect fake watches he hand-crafted for collectors between 1969 and 1974.
But no horological auction is complete without a 1:1 fake Rolex UK leading the pack. The standout Rollie in the upcoming sale is an 18-karat yellow-gold Cosmograph “Paul Newman” AAA replica Rolex Daytona Ref. 6241 “John Player Special” (estimate $600,000-$1,200,000). Fewer than 300 examples of this watch—so nicknamed for mimicking the colors of the racecars that John Player Special sponsored in the late ’60s and ’70s—were made in 18-karat yellow gold.
Even fewer “Paul Newman” versions of the “John Player Special” Rolex Cosmograph Daytona replica Paypal were made. It is the first time this example is coming to auction and is said to be in an “outstanding state of preservation.” It’s followed by a cheap fake Rolex Cosmograph Daytona Ref. 6239 “Pulsations Cherry Logo” (estimate $350,000-$700,000) and a Rolex Cosmograph Daytona Ref. 6241 “Paul Newman” dubbed “The Krug.”
The high quality fake Omega Speedmaster Professional Ref. 145.012 that belonged to the celebrated author Ralph Ellison, who wrote Invisible Man, will, no doubt, be a focus of the sale. Swiss movement copy Omega set a record for its most expensive watch ever sold at auction in Geneva with the tropical dial Omega Speedmaster Broad Arrow that sold for $3,399,633. Ellison wore his Omega replica for men from 1968 until his death in 1994. Read more about it here.