Antiquorum’s recent sale of 252 lots of exceptional collectors’ timepieces, horological tools and documents achieved a total of $12,053,000, with 82 percent of the lots sold. The saleroom in the Noga Hilton Hotel was packed with bidders representing many nationalities. The telephone bidding was fierce, with many lines connected to clients all over the world. Hundreds of people followed and bid over the Internet, sometimes leaving the auctioneer waiting until the worldwide online battle had ceased.

A total of 25 percent of the online bidding came from the Asian market – Shanghai, Taipei, Hong Kong and Singapore. Several representatives from horological museums were attending and able to acquire important pieces for their collections in competition with passionate individual collectors.

World records were broken with a Patek Philippe Ref 2497 – also the sale’s top lot – which sold for $1,197,000, and a Patek Philippe Ref 5004P, which brought $170,000, double its estimate.

This silver jewel casket with serinette singing musician and singing bird was purchased by a museum for $922,000.

A very likely unique piece, “Art Deco Birds” made byLongines, a magnificent, frosted platinum, iridescent translucentcloisonné enamel, diamond and sapphire keyless pendant watch, soldfor a world record price of $53,000.

One of the most spectacular lots of the sale and a true rarity to come up in the market was a unique silver jewel casket with serinette musician, singing bird and automaton sable that went for $922,000 to a private museum. A “Singing Canary” attributed to Jaquet Droz and made circa 1770 attained $180,000. The beautiful “Chinese Peony” tripled its lower estimate in fierce bidding in the room to eventually sell for $281,000.

The Breguet museum added several pieces to its collection, purchasing “Lord Gower,” a rare travel clock made in 1826, for $198,000, twice its estimate. Other acquisitions were a “Regulateur A Tourbillon – hunting cased” for $212,000 and “To Louis Bonaparte, King of Holland” quarter repeating pocket watch for $77,000.

The Jacquet Droz Museum acquired important enameled pocket watches from the late 1700s. Vacheron Constantin pieces sold very well, a fine example being a “Tourbillon Malte Squelette” that was sold to a South European collector at $123,000.

Osvaldo Patrizzi, chairman of Antiquorum and principal auctioneer, said after the sale, “The market interest is as strong as ever and spreading geographically to reach every corner of the globe.”

A Patek Philippe ref 5004P doubled its estimate at $170,000.

Rounding out the sale’s top ten lots were: a set of eightcommemorative watches, including a complete set of seven PatekPhilippe “Pagoda” watches: four gentleman’s and three lady’s andone Patek Philppe “Officier Répétition Minutes,” each in a fittedbox, $537,000; a rare Patek Philippe astronomic 18K rose goldminute-repeating keyless pocket watch with perpetual calendar, moonphases and lunar calendar, made in 1882, $455,000; a rare “BlackDial” Patek Philippe Ref 1463. water-resistant, 18K yellow goldgentleman’s wristwatch, made in 1954, $446,000.

Also, an extremely rare “Tachometer Scale” Patek Philippe Ref 2499, second series, astronomic, 18K yellow gold gentleman’s wristwatch with round button chronograph, tachometer scale, register, perpetual calendar and moon phases, $354,000; a Patek Philippe Ref 3979 “150th Anniversary Minute Repeater” made in 1989, $290,000; and a very rare Patek Philippe Ref 1463 18K pink gold gentleman’s wristwatch, made in 1956, with round button chronograph, register and tachometer, $248,000.

Prices reported include buyer’s premium.