Madonna della Sedia watch, Piguet & Meylan. One of a pair that reached $478,901.

The Amphora, attributed to Piguet & Capt, was the top lot at $523,410.

Sandberg Watch Collection Grosses $13 Million in Geneva

Geneva, Switzerland – Antiquorum’s sale of “The Sandberg Watch Collection”, held March 31 and April 1 at the Hotel Richemond, reached $13,085,265. The sum represents offerings that were 200 percent sold by value and 91 percent by lot.

During the weekend, 44 clients registered to bid online at www.antiquorum.com and bid a total of $427,745 in cyberspace, with $347,338 spent online just for the Sandberg Auction. Altogether more than 2,000 watch enthusiasts were online viewing the live auction broadcast during the entire weekend.

Lord Sandberg, though sad to lose his collection, was thrilled at the results. “I made the right decision in doing this auction with Antiquorum. Osvaldo is light years ahead of all the others in the field.” Sandberg referred to Osvaldo Patrizzi, chairman of the auction house, who saw the event as “a true festival for collectors which brought a number of new buyers.”

The top lots from the collection included lot 47, The Amphora, attributed to Piguet & Capt, circa 1805, which reached a world record at $523,410. The gold, enamel pearl-set, musical form watch with automaton scene was purchased by a Swiss private museum.

Lot 402 also reached a world record at $478,901. The Madonna della Sedia, Piguet & Meylan, circa 1820, a rare pair of gold, enamel, pearl and ruby set watches with music and automaton scene, also went to a Swiss private museum. Lot 194, at $447,110, another world record, was a Piguet & Meylan, circa 1820. The pair of gold, enamel, pearl-set, centre-seconds, quarter repeating watches was purchased by a Swiss private museum.

Lot 49, at $351,734, was attributed to Moulinié, Bautte & Cie, circa 1806. A US private collection went home with the pair of gold, enamel and pearl-set, perfume sprinkler pistols with watch. Selling for $ 345,376 and attributed to Jaquet-Droz, circa 1785, was a gold, enamel pearl and ruby set singing bird watch that, appropriately, was purchased by the Jaquet-Droz Museum.

Reaching the sum of $ 294,500 was an Abraham Cusin, circa 1630, silver, gold, gilt metal and enamel watch designed as a cross of the Order of the Holy Ghost. Its buyer was a Swiss private museum.