Could New York Overtake Geneva as the Top City for Luxury Watch Auctions?
Phillips’ Geneva Watch Auction achieved a record $112.3 million from 217 lots, with an average price of $517,406. Yet New York’s average selling price surpassed Geneva’s at Phillips’ spring auctions, reaching $479,792 compared with $430,036. US import duties on Swiss watches, combined with a weaker dollar, may make watches already in the United States more appealing to American buyers and help shift demand toward New York. Phillips has responded by encouraging US collectors to consign watches already in the country, while reporting that American bidders remain active in international sales. Its December New York auction is billed as the highest-value watch auction assembled in the United States, with 196 lots, including rare Patek Philippe and F.P. Journe watches. The sale will test whether New York can sustain its growing appeal among collectors of trophy timepieces.
Buying Time Analysis: This story matters because tariffs and a weaker dollar may be shifting trophy-watch demand toward New York, challenging Geneva’s traditional dominance and reshaping where collectors buy and consign rare watches.
