Watch Auctions 2026 · New York Autumn Season
TL;DR — Antiquorum New York, 18 October 2026
- Antiquorum returns to the US market for the first time in years with a live sale at The Ned NoMad, New York, 18 October 2026 at 11am
- Eight F.P. Journe watches headline the sale; the Chronomètre à Résonance in platinum is estimated at $316,000–$530,000
- Patek Philippe Nautilus 5711/1R-001 in 18k pink gold with Tiffany & Co. retail provenance is among the blue-chip lots
- Preview open to public 16 October (2–5pm) and 17 October (1–6pm) at 1170 Broadway, New York — same building used by WatchTime New York
- Bidding available in-person, online, by phone, and by absentee bid
After years of focusing its US presence on secondary-market platforms and international sales, Antiquorum is walking back into the American auction room. The Swiss house — founded in Geneva in 1974 and one of the oldest dedicated watch auction businesses in the world — has scheduled Important Modern & Vintage Timepieces for 18 October 2026 at The Ned NoMad New York. It is an in-room sale with phone, online, and absentee bidding available, and it lands in the same week as WatchTime New York 2026 at Gotham Hall — making mid-October a de facto New York watch week for the first time this autumn.
Why Antiquorum’s return matters
The house celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2025, closing that milestone year with sales in Geneva, Hong Kong, Monaco, and Milan. The New York return was announced from its Miami Beach office, with management framing it explicitly as a long-term re-entry rather than a one-off: “We are thrilled to reconnect with the US market, and we are re-entering with a long-term vision, strengthening our global presence.” For American collectors, that matters. US buyers have been doing their serious business at Phillips and Sotheby’s New York; Antiquorum’s return adds a third option with different consignment relationships and a European-calibre catalogue.
The timing is astute. The US watch auction market has been in exceptional form throughout 2026. The Voutilainen 28 Sport is currently bidding at $650,000 at the ongoing Phillips New York Sessions Fall 2026 online auction — 2.7 times its $240,000 high estimate, with five days to run. Before that, the Sotheby’s Hong Kong September sale set a new Asia auction record at HK$426 million. There is appetite in the room. Antiquorum is re-entering into a market running hot.
Eight F.P. Journe watches: the core of the sale
The announced lead in any Antiquorum sale that includes multiple Journe pieces is the Journe section itself. Eight examples are confirmed for the October 18 event, anchored by a Chronomètre à Résonance in platinum (reference 255-02R, movement circa 2002) with a pre-sale estimate of $316,000–$530,000. The Résonance is widely considered among the most intellectually ambitious watches produced in the modern era: two entirely independent movements, built to interact through acoustic resonance rather than mechanical coupling, stabilising each other’s rate over time. The piece carries the auction grading C 2 | D 2-01 | M 2* — the asterisk on the movement grade indicating an exceptional quality assessment — with original box and certificate.
A second confirmed Journe lot is a Centigraphe Souverain in platinum with a salmon-coloured dial. The Centigraphe is the only production watch with a centisecond hand; the salmon dial on a platinum case is among the most sought combinations in the reference. Antiquorum has not published estimates for all Journe lots at the time of writing.
The eight-piece Journe section comes in the wake of the June 2026 Phillips New York Watch Auction XIV, where four Voutilainen pieces exceeded $1 million each and a Journe Résonance sold for $13.9 million. Market confidence in serious independent watchmaking is running higher than at any point in the past decade, and Antiquorum appears to have assembled this section with that benchmark clearly in view. For context on how these pieces have behaved over time on the secondary market, our analysis of watch fair launches and secondary market value is relevant reading.
The blue-chip lots: Patek Nautilus and Richard Mille
Alongside the Journe section, two additional lots have been announced that address the mainstream collector market. The Patek Philippe Nautilus Ref. 5711/1R-001 in 18k rose gold comes with Tiffany & Co. retail provenance — meaning it was sold through the New York jeweller, which has historically added a layer of collector interest to Patek pieces beyond the standard retail channel. The 5711/1R is the rose gold expression of the Nautilus; less contentious than the steel 5711/1A but consistently traded above retail on the secondary market. For context on the broader Patek landscape relative to other blue-chip brands, our Grand Seiko vs. Patek Philippe comparison covers the value arguments in detail.
The Richard Mille RM 35-02 Rafael Nadal rounds out the announced highlights. The RM 35-02 is Nadal’s tournament watch — the version worn and destroyed across multiple Grand Slam victories before the partnership ended — in a carbon TPT case with skeletonised CRMA2 movement. Richard Mille pieces in good condition with documented sporting provenance connections have been consistently strong performers at auction across every major house. No estimate has been published at time of writing.
New York watch week: what to do in three days
The October 16–18 window is worth planning around carefully. WatchTime New York runs at Gotham Hall (1356 Broadway) from 5:30pm Friday through to 4pm Sunday, with 46 brands represented including Kari Voutilainen, MB&F, Urwerk, Laurent Ferrier, Ferdinand Berthoud, and Massena LAB. The Friday VIP dinner is sold out; general admission for Saturday and Sunday is $50. The Antiquorum preview opens at The Ned NoMad (1170 Broadway) on Friday 16 October from 2–5pm and Saturday 17 October from 1–6pm — a 25-minute walk from Gotham Hall — before the live sale on Sunday 18 October at 11am. Collectors attending WatchTime on Saturday can walk to the Antiquorum preview in the afternoon.
Practical details for bidders
| Sale name | Important Modern & Vintage Timepieces |
|---|---|
| Date | 18 October 2026, 11:00am ET |
| Venue | The Ned NoMad New York, 1170 Broadway, New York, NY |
| Preview | 16 October, 2–5pm | 17 October, 1–6pm |
| Bidding options | In-person, online, telephone, absentee |
| Lead lot estimate | F.P. Journe Chronomètre à Résonance (platinum): $316,000–$530,000 |
| Auction house | Antiquorum Auctioneers (est. 1974, Geneva) |
| Register to bid | antiquorum.swiss |
Frequently asked questions
Antiquorum celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2025 and has been expanding its international calendar with sales in Geneva, Hong Kong, Monaco, and Milan. The US return reflects growing appetite from American collectors and benefits from momentum in the New York watch auction market following record-breaking sales at Phillips and Sotheby’s through 2026.
The two events share the same October 16–18 window in New York. WatchTime runs at Gotham Hall (1356 Broadway) while the Antiquorum preview and sale take place at The Ned NoMad (1170 Broadway), about a 25-minute walk apart. Collectors attending both can preview Antiquorum’s lots on Friday afternoon or Saturday before attending WatchTime.
The $316,000–$530,000 estimate for the platinum Résonance is significant but not out of line with recent results: a Journe Résonance sold for $13.9 million at Phillips New York in June 2026 (a record), while other Résonance examples in platinum have traded above $400,000 at auction in the past two years. Condition and provenance matter enormously; this example carries Antiquorum’s exceptional movement grade. As with all auction purchases, total cost includes buyer’s premium.
Yes. Antiquorum accepts in-person, online, telephone, and absentee bids. Register to bid at antiquorum.swiss ahead of the 18 October sale.
The Phillips New York Sessions Fall 2026 online auction runs through 9 October, with 88 lots closing sequentially from 10am ET. In November, Geneva auction week (6–9 November) brings Phillips, Sotheby’s, Christie’s, and Antiquorum under one roof for what is typically the year’s biggest single auction cluster.
Sources: Antiquorum Returns to US Auction Market with New York Sale (WatchPro, 1 October 2026); Antiquorum lot 1-641SXY — F.P. Journe Chronomètre à Résonance (Antiquorum, October 2026); Antiquorum auction calendar (Antiquorum, 2026).
