Grand Seiko watch fetches record $647,337 at New York auction
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The record price paid suggests high-end collectors are willing to pay up for timepieces even if they are not Swiss made.
PHOTO: GRAND-SEIKO.COM
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NEW YORK – A one-of-a-kind Grand Seiko sold for US$478,800 (S$647,337), the highest price ever paid at auction for a watch from the Japanese brand.
The record price paid for the Grand Seiko Kodo Constant-Force Tourbillon at the Phillips New York auction, suggests high-end collectors are willing to pay up for timepieces even if they are not Swiss made.
The Grand Seiko is housed in a titanium case with an open-work dial showing the mechanism that ensures stable accuracy for the watch in different positions.
Part of the auction proceeds from the Grand Seiko will go to the Children’s Heart Foundation charity, Phillips said in a statement. Watches sold at auction with proceeds going to charity often sell at higher prices.
The auction also featured an F.P. Journe Tourbillon Souverain in platinum that sold for US$1.24 million, tying the record price paid for the reference from the independent Swiss brand.
Grand Seiko was founded in 1960 to produce high-end timepieces as part of Japan’s Seiko watchmaking group founded in 1881. In 2017, Grand Seiko separated from the parent company to operate as an autonomous brand.
Phillips sold a George Daniels timepiece for more than US$4 million in Geneva in November, a record auction price for a British made wristwatch. BLOOMBERG
