AuctionsMay 14, 2025
Custom Rolex Pulled From Sotheby’s SaleAuctionsJun 12, 2025
Vintage Patek Philippe From the ‘50s Sells for $4M at Sotheby’s
Al Capone’s pocket watch also found a buyer, though it went for less than half of what it did at auction four years ago.
This pink gold Patek Philippe perpetual calendar chronograph Ref. 2499 was the top lot in Sotheby’s “Important Watches: Take a Minute” auction, held Tuesday in New York. A buyer paid $4.3 million for the watch, which was made in 1957 and features the retailer’s name (Gobbi Milano) beneath the moon phase complication. (Photo courtesy of Sotheby’s)
New York—Vintage Patek Philippe watches from the mid-1950s through the mid-1990s comprised five of the top 10 lots in a recent Sotheby’s watch auction, with the top lot going for more than $4 million.
“Important Watches: Take a Minute” took place Tuesday in New York and was led by a Patek Philippe perpetual calendar chronograph Ref. 2499 in pink gold, a watch believed to be the only one of its kind.
Made in 1957 and sold by Gobbi Milano, the watch is one of only nine second series Ref. 2499 watches cased in pink gold. Of those nine, it’s the only one that has a retailer’s signature on the dial, seen below the moon phase.
A private collector paid $4.3 million for the timepiece, which had a pre-sale estimate of $3 million to $5 million.
It is the most expensive wristwatch Sotheby’s has sold so far this year.
The second highest-grossing lot of the sale was also a Patek Philippe watch from the 1950s, a pink gold Ref. 2524/1 minute repeater manufactured in 1954 and sold by Gübelin.
A private collector paid $1.6 million for the timepiece, coming in at the lower end of its estimated sale range of $1.3 to $2.5 million.
“Important Watches: Take a Minute” took place Tuesday in New York and was led by a Patek Philippe perpetual calendar chronograph Ref. 2499 in pink gold, a watch believed to be the only one of its kind.
Made in 1957 and sold by Gobbi Milano, the watch is one of only nine second series Ref. 2499 watches cased in pink gold. Of those nine, it’s the only one that has a retailer’s signature on the dial, seen below the moon phase.
A private collector paid $4.3 million for the timepiece, which had a pre-sale estimate of $3 million to $5 million.
It is the most expensive wristwatch Sotheby’s has sold so far this year.
The second highest-grossing lot of the sale was also a Patek Philippe watch from the 1950s, a pink gold Ref. 2524/1 minute repeater manufactured in 1954 and sold by Gübelin.
A private collector paid $1.6 million for the timepiece, coming in at the lower end of its estimated sale range of $1.3 to $2.5 million.
This Patek Philippe Ref. 2524/1 minute repeater was made in 1954. A private collector paid $1.6 million for it at Sotheby’s recent watch auction in New York. (Photo courtesy of Sotheby’s)
This “Paul Newman” Rolex Daytona from 1968 with “tropical” sub-dials sold for more than $900,000, topping its highest pre-sale estimate of $800,000. (Photo courtesy of Sotheby’s)
Sold for $787,400, this Patek Philippe Ref. 5531R-012 World Time has a cloisonné enamel motif of Lake Geneva on its dial. (Photo courtesy of Sotheby’s)
This “Paul Newman” Rolex Daytona, a Ref. 6263 “Panda” model from 1969, sold for $762,000. (Photo courtesy of Sotheby’s)
The third highest-grossing lot in the sale was another vintage wristwatch, this one a “Paul Newman” Rolex Daytona from 1968.
The Ref. 6241 features what are known as “tropical” subsidiary dials, sub-dials that have faded over time from black to a rich brown.
Five bidders competed for the piece, which eventually sold to a private collector from the Middle East for $914,400, topping its pre-sale estimate of $400,000 to $800,000 and becoming the most expensive example of its kind ever sold at auction.
Rounding out the sale’s top five were a Patek Philippe Ref. 5531R-012 World Time “Rare Handcrafts” from 2021, which sold for $787,400, and another “Paul Newman” Rolex Daytona, this one a Ref. 6263 “Panda Paul Newman” from 1969.
A member of the European trade paid $762,000 for it.
In 2021, a buyer paid $229,900 for this Patek Philippe pocket watch that belonged to Al Capone but got only $92,250 for it at Sotheby’s on Tuesday. (Photo courtesy of Sotheby’s)
While buyers at the Sotheby’s sale showed appreciation for vintage timepieces, there was one older watch, a circa 1919 timepiece, that depreciated in value since its last sale.
As part of Tuesday’s auction, Sotheby’s offered a Patek Philippe pocket watch that once belonged to Alphonse Gabriel Capone, the notorious mobster better known as Al Capone.
According to Sotheby’s, Capone’s family does not know where he purchased the watch, but it is known that he discarded the original case in favor of having a custom one made in solid platinum.
The watch also has a snap-on case back featuring the letters “AC” set with 90 single-cut diamonds (0.02 carats each, E-F color, VS clarity), and a signed dial and movement.
The pocket watch sold for $92,250.
That is within the range Sotheby’s estimated, $80,000 to $160,000, but is less than half what the seller paid for it four years ago at Witherell’s auction house in Sacramento, California.
Then part of a larger sale of Capone’s possessions offered by his descendants, the pocket watch went for $229,900 in 2021.
All told, “Important Watches: Take a Minute” totaled $20.4 million, the second-highest total for a Sotheby’s watch auction held in New York.
Of the 112 lots offered, 110 sold for a sell-through rate of 98 percent, the highest watch sale sell-through rate for the auction house since 2012.
“The results of this sale speak volumes, not only to the strength of the market, but about the enduring emotional power of truly great watches,” Geoff Hess, global head of Sotheby’s watches, said.
“The sale of these trophy watches marks a clear resurgence in vintage collecting, grounded in scholarship and emerging after a period dominated by modern pieces. As we celebrate today’s results, one thing is undeniable: passion—not speculation—is driving the market. True connoisseurs are leading the way, while speculators remain on the sidelines.”
To sell the full results of the sale, visit the Sotheby’s website.
The auction house has another watch sale, “Fine Watches,” going on now through June 17 online.
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