Watch Auctions · September 2026 Results
TL;DR — September 2026 Hong Kong Auction Results
- Sotheby’s Important Watches (Sept 18–19): HK$426 million / US$55 million — Sotheby’s highest-ever watch sale and the most valuable watch auction in Asia.
- Top lot: F.P. Journe Tourbillon Souverain at HK$31.4 million (US$4.0M).
- New world record: Unique white-gold Cartier Cheich at HK$26.5 million (US$3.4M) — the most expensive Cartier wristwatch ever sold at auction.
- Phillips Hong Kong Online (closed Sept 24): 158 lots cleared; Roger Dubuis Sympathie achieved 7× its high estimate at HK$2.159M.
- What’s next: The November Geneva week — Phillips GWAX XXIV, Sotheby’s Geneva, Christie’s — will test whether Asia’s demand translates westward.
Two auction houses. One week. One unmistakable verdict: collector appetite for rare, provenance-rich timepieces is not softening.
Sotheby’s brought the headline. Its Important Watches sale in Hong Kong on September 18–19, 2026 realised HK$426 million (approximately US$55 million) — the highest total in the house’s history for a watch sale, and the largest watch auction ever staged in Asia. More than 2,000 bidders from 50 countries competed across three sessions at Sotheby’s Maison, Landmark Chater. The results confirmed two trends that have been building for 18 months: the dominance of F.P. Journe in the Asian auction room, and a Cartier London vintage renaissance that is rewriting the record books.
The Top Lots at a Glance
| Rank | Lot | Hammer (HKD) | Hammer (USD approx.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | F.P. Journe Tourbillon Souverain (platinum) | HK$31,400,000 | ~US$4,010,000 |
| 2 | Cartier Cheich, white gold, 2010 (unique) ★ | HK$26,520,000 | ~US$3,390,000 |
| 3 | F.P. Journe Tourbillon Souverain (second example) | HK$23,470,000 | ~US$2,998,000 |
| 4 | F.P. Journe Répétition Souveraine | HK$12,160,000 | ~US$1,553,000 |
| 5 | F.P. Journe Octa Chronographe | HK$11,520,000 | ~US$1,471,000 |
| 6 | Patek Philippe Ref. 5074R-018 | HK$11,520,000 | ~US$1,471,000 |
| 7 | Patek Philippe Ref. 5016 | HK$8,960,000 | ~US$1,145,000 |
| 8 | Patek Philippe Ref. 2497 | HK$8,320,000 | ~US$1,063,000 |
| + | Cartier London Midi Pebble, c. 1973–74 (2.5× high est.) | HK$3,800,000 | ~US$485,000 |
F.P. Journe: The Auction Room Belongs to You
Three of the five highest lots — and five of the top ten — were pieces by François-Paul Journe. The session’s champion was a Tourbillon Souverain in platinum that hammered at HK$31.4 million (US$4.0M). Remarkably, a second Tourbillon Souverain followed in third position at HK$23.47 million, with a Répétition Souveraine and an Octa Chronographe completing the Journe sweep of the upper chart.
The pattern matches what our secondary market analysis of watch fair launches has tracked across 2025–26: pieces that demonstrate mechanical originality and limited surviving examples command premiums that show no ceiling. F.P. Journe is no longer a niche taste; it is the clearest signal in the auction market that rarity and watchmaking philosophy move money as effectively as heritage brand names.
The Cartier Moment: A New Record and a Vintage London Surge
The afternoon’s most theatrical result arrived with the white-gold Cartier Cheich: one of only five Cheich watches ever produced and the only example executed in 18-karat white gold. Commissioned by Italian collector Giorgio Seragnoli in 2010, engraved “No. 1” on the case back, it offered an original Cartier certificate and a custom-fitted box with brown leather strap and white-gold clasp. The hammer fell at HK$26.52 million (US$3.4 million), establishing a new world auction record for any Cartier wristwatch — surpassing the yellow-gold Cartier London Crash that set the previous Cartier record at Sotheby’s Hong Kong in April 2026 at US$1.99 million.
The secondary story was equally striking. A Cartier London Midi Pebble from circa 1973–74 — a geometric form watch from the experimental decade of Cartier’s London atelier — realised HK$3.8 million (US$485,000), more than 2.5 times its high estimate and a new model record.
Taken together, 2026 has now seen three separate Cartier wristwatch world records set in a single year. For collectors weighing Cartier’s place in a portfolio, our Cartier Santos review covers where the contemporary range stands, while our Rolex vs Cartier comparison frames the collecting case for each house. The auction data suggests that vintage Cartier London pieces — Crash, Cheich, Pebble — are now in a category defined by narrative and uniqueness, not reference-point pricing.
Patek Philippe: The Bedrock Holds Firm
Three vintage Patek Philippe references occupied positions six through eight, confirming that blue-chip Patek remains the market’s reliable floor. The Ref. 5074R-018 (rose gold, perpetual calendar with Westminster minute-repeating chime) and the Ref. 5016 tourbillon minute-repeater both cleared HK$8–11.5 million without drama. For collectors weighing independent watchmakers against Patek as a store of value, our Grand Seiko vs Patek Philippe guide offers a useful frame on how different watchmaking philosophies are valued by today’s market.
Phillips Hong Kong Sessions, Fall 2026
Running concurrently with Sotheby’s, Phillips concluded its online Hong Kong Sessions Fall 2026 sale on 24 September with 158 lots cleared. The standout result was a Roger Dubuis Ref. S37 5637 5 Sympathíe that hammered at HK$2.159 million — roughly seven times its HK$150,000–300,000 estimate — a result that reflects the expanding circle of collectors pursuing exceptional condition and provenance in references outside the canonical names. An A. Lange & Söhne Odysseus in titanium (Ref. 363.117) nearly doubled its high estimate at HK$1.651 million; two F.P. Journe pieces each realised HK$1.27 million against estimates of HK$300,000–800,000.
What These Results Signal for November
The November Geneva auction week concentrates enormous firepower in a few days: Phillips Geneva Watch Auction XXIV (November 7–8), Sotheby’s Geneva Important Watches (November 8), Christie’s Rare Watches (November 9), and Antiquorum all in sequence around the GPHG ceremony on November 7.
Three signals from Hong Kong should shape how you watch those results. Depth of demand: 2,000-plus active bidders in a single auction, competitive right down the lot list, not just at the top. Geographic reach: participation from 50 countries confirms that Asia is not a regional market — it is setting global reference prices. The narrative premium: the Cheich and the Roger Dubuis both carried compelling stories that translated directly into multiples. Consignors heading to Geneva will lean hard into that.
Whether watches are worth buying as investments is a question the September results re-open. Our analysis of which watches hold their value best takes the grounded view. The short answer from September 2026: truly unique pieces from F.P. Journe and certain Cartier London references are operating outside the rules that apply to production watches.
The highest-realising lot was an F.P. Journe Tourbillon Souverain in platinum, which sold for HK$31.4 million (approximately US$4.0 million) at hammer on 18 September 2026.
Yes. The unique white-gold Cartier Cheich (2010, engraved “No. 1”) sold for HK$26.52 million (US$3.4 million), establishing a new world auction record for the most expensive Cartier wristwatch ever sold. The previous record — a yellow-gold Cartier London Crash — was set at Sotheby’s Hong Kong in April 2026.
The Important Watches sale totalled HK$426 million (approximately US$55 million), making it both the highest-grossing watch auction in Sotheby’s history and the most valuable watch sale ever held in Asia.
F.P. Journe was the dominant maker, occupying three of the top five lots at Sotheby’s and claiming several lots at the Phillips online sale. Vintage Cartier London pieces and blue-chip vintage Patek Philippe references also performed strongly.
The next concentration of major live sales is Geneva’s November 2026 week: Phillips Geneva Watch Auction XXIV (7–8 November), Sotheby’s Geneva Important Watches (8 November), Christie’s Rare Watches Including Watches for ELA (9 November), and Antiquorum’s Important Modern and Vintage Timepieces (7–8 November).
Sources: Artdaily — Sotheby’s HK $426M total and top lots; National Jeweler — Cartier Cheich world record; Watch Collecting Lifestyle — Cheich lot detail; Phillips — Hong Kong Sessions Fall 2026 results.
