November 2026 Watch Auctions: The Geneva & Hong Kong Sales to Know, From a Steel Patek 1436 to a 2499 First Series

There is a particular weekend each November when the watch world’s attention narrows to a few hundred meters of Geneva’s lakefront. Specialists fly in, preview rooms fill with collectors trying on watches they may never wear again, and the hotels along the Quai Wilson and the Quai des Bergues briefly become the most valuable square footage in horology. This year that weekend lands on November 7 through 9, and it may be the busiest yet.

The November 2026 watch auctions open with Phillips on Saturday, November 7, the same night the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève hands out its prizes across town. Sotheby’s follows on November 8 and 9, Christie’s takes the stage on Monday, November 9, and the season’s second act moves to Hong Kong on November 21 and 22. We first sketched the season in our fall auction preview; with the catalogs now taking shape, here is the full calendar, sale by sale.

Geneva, November 7 to 9

Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo opens the season with The Geneva Watch Auction: XXIV, two days of sales on November 7 and 8 at the Hotel President on the Quai Wilson, with no fewer than 220 timepieces. The house arrives with momentum: its spring sales in Geneva, Hong Kong and New York realized more than US$235 million, with three watches selling for over US$10 million each.

The headline lot is a Patek Philippe Ref. 1436 split-seconds chronograph in stainless steel, made in 1945 and estimated at CHF 2,000,000–4,000,000. Patek launched the reference in 1938 as its first serially produced split-seconds chronograph, and Phillips cites scholarship suggesting about 140 were made over some 33 years. Only two steel examples are currently known to retain both their original cases and original dials. This one has a silvered dial with applied steel markers and a tachymeter scale, a crown that doubles as the split-seconds pusher, and no service marks inside the caseback, and an Extract from the Archives confirms its production in 1945 and its sale in 1949.

The supporting cast is deep. A Rolex Cosmograph Daytona Ref. 6241 “John Player Special” in 14k yellow gold, whose bracelet is stamped “V.C.A,” carries an estimate of CHF 800,000–1,600,000. A Ref. 6062 “Stelline” in yellow gold, recently discovered in Japan and consigned by its original owner, is estimated at CHF 600,000–1,200,000. A 1953 Patek Philippe Ref. 2497 in a Wenger case is the only one currently known with the dial signature of the Manhattan retailer Gumbiner. For those who prefer enamel, a 1950 World Time Ref. 605HU pocket watch with a cloisonné “North America” dial is one of just five known with that map and palm tree.

Independent watchmaking gets its own spotlight. Two F.P. Journe Chronomètre à Résonance watches lead it: the platinum “Régence” made in 2002 for Les Ambassadeurs, the only example with a shiny pink gold hand-engraved dial, estimated at CHF 1,000,000–2,000,000, and No. 2 of the 12-piece titanium edition made for the second anniversary of Journe’s Tokyo boutique. It is a timely moment for the brand, given the recent news that F.P. Journe and Chanel are acquiring Ebel. Alongside them are a unique Roger Smith Series 1 in white and pink gold, a tantalum Voutilainen Vingt-8 Inversé engraved “1/1,” and Ferdinand Berthoud’s Marine Chronometer No. 46 of 1790. Before Geneva, the highlights tour stops in New York at Phillips, 432 Park Avenue, from October 14 to 16, then Riyadh, Hong Kong and London.

Sotheby’s runs its Important Watches sale in Geneva on November 8 and 9, with an online Fine Watches sale closing on November 10. Among the first published highlights, two come from A. Lange & Söhne: a unique, fresh-to-market pink gold hunting-cased clock watch from around 1914, with perpetual calendar, quarter repeater, grande and petite sonnerie, and moon phases, estimated at CHF 500,000–1,000,000, and an early Lange 1 “Stainless Steel” Ref. 101.026 from around 1996, estimated at CHF 150,000–300,000. Between them sits a limited-edition yellow gold George Daniels Millennium from 2001, estimated at CHF 300,000–600,000.

Christie’s closes the Geneva weekend on November 9 at the Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues with Rare Watches Including Watches for ELA. Its May Rare Watches sale in Geneva achieved CHF 33.1 million with a 99 percent sell-through rate, and this time the house pairs vintage icons and independents with a charity section of around 20 donated watches benefiting ELA International, the European Leukodystrophies Association. The emotional lot is Zinedine Zidane’s Cartier Pasha, the first watch he bought for himself, with his first salary as a young player at Bordeaux. “I purchased it nearly thirty-five years ago, and it has remained with me ever since,” Zidane shares in the release. Rémi Guillemin, Head of Watches for Christie’s Europe and Americas, puts it plainly: “Who wouldn’t dream of becoming the next proud owner of a watch with such an extraordinary sporting provenance?” In our view, it is the lot most likely to be bid well beyond its category.

Hong Kong, November 21 and 22

Two weeks later, Phillips moves the season to Asia with The Hong Kong Watch Auction: XXIII, held at its headquarters in the WKCDA Tower in the West Kowloon Cultural District, with viewing from November 16 to 22. The sale is led by a Patek Philippe Ref. 2499 First Series in yellow gold, cased by Wenger, estimated at HK$12,000,000–24,000,000. Context matters here: in May, a pink gold 2499 First Series sold at Phillips Hong Kong for HK$80,370,000, or US$10,255,212, a world auction record for the reference and, per Phillips, the most valuable timepiece ever sold at auction in Asia.

The Hong Kong catalog leans heavily on Patek Philippe. A possibly unique Ref. 3990P-011 in platinum with a salmon dial shares the top estimate of HK$12,000,000–24,000,000, a Ref. 1518 in pink gold is estimated at HK$8,000,000–16,000,000, and both a Ref. 2481 “Tropics” in pink gold and a possibly unique Ref. 5074P-021 with an emerald-set dial carry estimates of HK$5,000,000–10,000,000. F.P. Journe returns in force, including an early platinum Tourbillon Souverain and a Chronomètre à Résonance “Parking Meter,” one of five made for The Armoury and the property of Mark Cho, at HK$6,000,000–12,000,000, along with a possibly unique titanium Voutilainen Vingt-8 with a hand-guilloché blue enamel dial.

A few practical notes for anyone planning to bid. All estimates exclude buyer’s premium, which is added to the hammer price. Phillips also warns that watches with non-U.S. origins may face special tariffs on import into the United States, which buyers are responsible for paying.

We will be reporting results from every sale, as we did with October’s watch auction results. If the spring was about records, November looks like it will be about rarity of a quieter kind: original cases, untouched dials and watches that have not been seen in decades. That is the kind of auction season collectors remember.

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Adrienne Faurote

Editor in Chief · Haute Time

As a former New Yorker, now a “Miamian,” Adrienne Faurote joined Haute Living in August of 2021. She currently serves as the Haute Media Group Editor-in-Chief, overseeing all editorial platforms within the Haute Media Group while also maintaining her role as Fashion, Jewelry & Watch Director. Prior to her position at Haute Living, Faurote was the Market Editor at Marie Claire Magazine US, amassing over ten years in the industry, becoming an authoritative voice in all things fashion, jewelry, and watches.