
PATEK PHILIPPE/BLOOMBERG
A Patek Philippe timepiece sold for $31 million, the highest price for a wristwatch in an auction, at a charity sale run by Christie’s in Geneva, reported Bloomberg.
The steel Grandmaster Chime went under the hammer after a five-minute bidding war in a packed room of more than 300 people.
The Patek Philippe has two dials (one on the back) and 20 special functions. It was sold at an event called Only Watch in which watchmakers offer one-of-a-kind timepieces to raise money for research into Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
Record auction prices for watches have been accelerating in recent years, in 2010 the highest was $5.7 million. Only Watch was founded in 2005 by Luc Pettavino, former Chief Executive Officer of the Monaco Yacht Show.
Christie’s is holding its annual auction of watches in Geneva and at the end of this month will offer a rare 1950s Patek in Hong Kong—the piece has an estimate of as much as $14 million.
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