Christie’s Closes Auction Week on Sunday: Sultan’s Nautilus, the Vagabondage Trilogy, and 218 Lots in Geneva
Geneva’s autumn auction week entered its final stretch with four houses, four rooms, and 18 days on the calendar. Phillips XXIV opens Saturday morning. Christie’s Rare Watches follows on Sunday, November 9, at the Four Seasons Hôtel des Bergues at approximately 12:30 pm CET — the last live gavel of the week. At 218 lots, 39 by independent makers, and seven unique pieces, it is also the most independent-heavy single session in the city this November.
TL;DR
- 218 lots, Four Seasons Hôtel des Bergues, Sunday 9 November, 12:30 pm CET
- Patek Philippe Nautilus Ref. 3700/1 “Khanjar” yellow gold (ex-Sultan Qaboos): CHF 500,000–1,000,000
- F.P. Journe Vagabondage I + II + III, same private collection, consecutive numbers: CHF 400,000–800,000 each
- Voutilainen Vingt-8 SC unique (stainless steel, onyx dial): CHF 300,000–500,000
- 21 Watches for ELA charity lots alongside the main session
- Preview open through Saturday, 10:00–15:00
A Sultan’s Watch, Directly From His Circle
The lot that stops the catalog this week does not carry a lot number anyone has memorised from decades of auction lore. It is a Patek Philippe Nautilus Ref. 3700/1 in yellow gold with what Christie’s describes as a “Khanjar” dial — a gold applied khanjar, the curved dagger that forms Oman’s national emblem, set directly on the dial. The watch was made in 1978 for Sultan Qaboos bin Said al Said and reached the market through the hands of a close associate of the Sultan’s household, who received it as a personal gift. Christie’s identifies it as one of only five yellow gold Ref. 3700 examples with the Khanjar motif known to exist publicly. Estimate: CHF 500,000–1,000,000.
The same CHF 500,000–1,000,000 bracket returns for the Patek Philippe Ref. 1518 — a yellow gold perpetual calendar chronograph whose Patek Archives confirm an original sale date of December 17, 1948. The 1518 holds the distinction of being the first serially produced perpetual calendar chronograph wristwatch, with Patek making 281 examples between 1941 and 1954, the great majority in yellow gold. This example is in original condition with its original certificate.
F.P. Journe: Five Lots Already Covered, Three That Haven’t Been
Christie’s Geneva 2026 carries two distinct F.P. Journe stories. The first is the five Ruthenium pieces numbered 92/99 from the Schumacher estate — those lots are covered in depth separately. The second has not been told: a private collector is consigning three consecutive Vagabondage pieces from their own collection — Vagabondage I (No. 36/68-V), Vagabondage II (No. 36/68-VII), and Vagabondage III (No. 36/68-VIII), all in pink gold. Each carries an estimate of CHF 400,000–800,000. At the top of that range, the trilogy is a CHF 2.4 million proposition. No other auction in 2026 has offered three consecutive numbered pieces from a single owner’s Vagabondage run.
Add a Tourbillon Souverain Reference T — No. 125/01T, pink gold, silvered dial, circa 2001, estimated CHF 650,000–1,400,000 — and Christie’s carries eight F.P. Journe lots in total. The demand context is not theoretical: at Antiquorum New York in October, Journe dominated eight lots and the Centigraphe Souverain led the sale at $1.67 million. That result, alongside the strong performance at Antiquorum Geneva’s own 603-lot survey this week, confirms demand is not cooling.
Key Lots at a Glance
| Watch | Description | Estimate (CHF) |
|---|---|---|
| Patek Philippe Nautilus 3700/1 | Yellow gold, “Khanjar” dial, 1978 (ex-Sultan Qaboos) | 500,000–1,000,000 |
| Patek Philippe Ref. 1518 | Yellow gold, perpetual calendar chronograph, 1948 | 500,000–1,000,000 |
| F.P. Journe Tourbillon Souverain T | Pink gold, No. 125/01T, silvered dial, c. 2001 | 650,000–1,400,000 |
| F.P. Journe Vagabondage I | Pink gold, No. 36/68-V, c. 2023 | 400,000–800,000 |
| F.P. Journe Vagabondage II | Pink gold, No. 36/68-VII, c. 2010 | 400,000–800,000 |
| F.P. Journe Vagabondage III | Pink gold, No. 36/68-VIII, c. 2017 | 400,000–800,000 |
| Voutilainen Vingt-8 SC | Unique, stainless steel, onyx dial, c. 2020 | 300,000–500,000 |
| Sylvain Pinaud Origine | Unique, platinum, GPHG Revelation Prize, c. 2024 | 100,000–200,000 |
Independent Watchmaking on Stage
Among the sale’s seven unique pieces, the Voutilainen Vingt-8 SC draws particular attention. It is a one-off built on the reference’s hand-wound, 42-hour movement with a stainless steel case and an onyx dial — a combination Voutilainen has rarely made available outside private commissions. At CHF 300,000–500,000, the estimate lands within range of recent Vingt-8 room prices while the unique status and steel case attract a buyer group distinct from pink gold collectors.
The Sylvain Pinaud Origine, estimated CHF 100,000–200,000, is worth watching for different reasons. Pinaud won the GPHG Revelation Prize in 2022 with the Origine’s debut; subsequent examples were made in a run of one, then two, then never again. This circa 2024 piece is the first example to reach a major auction house. For collectors tracking the market’s appetite for first-generation independents, that is worth noting.
Watches for ELA: 21 Lots for Leukodystrophy Research
Running alongside the main session is Watches for ELA — 21 unique pieces donated by independent brands to raise funds for the European Leukodystrophy Association, which supports research into leukodystrophy, a rare and often fatal degenerative condition. The charity sale brings a different kind of collector into the room: one bidding on cause as much as complication. SJX Watches’ November 2 preview identified four charity lots with estimates:
| Watch | Maker | Estimate (CHF) |
|---|---|---|
| Dual Time “Art for ELA” | Atælier Haute Complication | 15,000–25,000 |
| Abyss | Cédric Johner | 20,000–40,000 |
| Projekt 01 | Kollokium | 4,000–8,000 |
| Seneca II | Konstantin Chaykin | 15,000–25,000 |
Also in the ELA section: Zinedine Zidane’s personal Cartier Pasha, profiled here when Christie’s announced the consignment. Christie’s has not released a formal estimate for the Pasha; bidding history on comparable signed Pasha examples at auction suggests the charity premium will push the final price well above guide.
How Christie’s Fits the Week’s Final Picture
Geneva’s November 2026 week asks buyers to attend four houses across four days. Antiquorum’s 603-lot survey opened the week on Friday. Sotheby’s Important Watches, with the George Daniels Millennium in yellow gold among its headliners, runs Saturday and Sunday. Phillips XXIV dominates Saturday morning. Christie’s closes the week on Sunday afternoon. The cumulative estimate across the four houses runs into the hundreds of millions of Swiss francs — if Christie’s 218 lots perform at mid-estimate, the week’s combined total will represent one of the strongest November auctions the city has seen.
Sunday, November 9, 2026, at approximately 12:30 pm CET, Four Seasons Hôtel des Bergues, Geneva. Preview runs November 5–8 (closing at 15:00 on Saturday the 8th).
Register at christies.com. Bidding is available in person, by absentee bid, by telephone (must be arranged in advance), or online through Christie’s live bidding platform.
The Ref. 3700/1 Nautilus in yellow gold with a Khanjar dial was made in 1978 for Sultan Qaboos bin Said al Said of Oman. The khanjar — the curved dagger on Oman’s national emblem — is applied in gold on the dial. Christie’s estimates it at CHF 500,000–1,000,000 and describes it as one of only five such examples known publicly.
Watches for ELA is a charity initiative within Christie’s Rare Watches session. Independent watchmakers donate unique pieces; proceeds go to the European Leukodystrophy Association, which funds research into leukodystrophy, a rare degenerative disease affecting the myelin sheath.
Yes — the five Ruthenium pieces from the Schumacher estate (numbered 92/99) are among Christie’s Geneva’s headliner lots. They are covered in a separate dispatch on this site. This preview focuses on the other uncovered lots: the Sultan’s Nautilus, the Vagabondage trilogy, the Voutilainen unique, and the ELA charity section.
Sources: Haute Time, “November 2026 Watch Auctions: Geneva and Hong Kong Calendar,” 28 Oct 2026 (hautetime.com); SJX Watches, “Indies Step Up for Charity with Watches for ELA,” 2 Nov 2026 (watchesbysjx.com). Lot estimates sourced from Christie’s via Haute Time’s 19 Oct 2026 Christie’s preview (hautetime.com). Bidders should verify current estimates at christies.com before placing bids.
