Phillips wrapped up its online-only session, The New York Sessions Fall 2026, on 9 October, and the results were led by independent watchmaking. The top lot was a Kari Voutilainen 28Sport Limited Edition that hammered down at $1,016,000, more than quadruple its pre-sale high estimate of $240,000, making it the standout performance of the session. The top lot, a 28Sport Limited Edition numbered five of eight, embodies the appeal of Voutilainen's hand-finished production: the independent atelier makes watches in tiny quantities, and examples at auction are closely watched as proxies for demand in the wider secondary market. Two F.P. Journe timepieces — an Octa Sport Centigraphe and an Octa Lune — each realised $304,800, well ahead of their $60,000 to $120,000 estimates, underlining the continuing strength of demand for independent and artisanal watch brands. Several lots in the sale outperformed expectations by substantial margins, echoing a pattern seen across this month's watch auction calendar, which also included a record 100 percent sell-through at Sotheby's Paris. The online format appears to be working in Phillips' favour for this category. With entry-level estimates beginning around $2,000, the session drew competition from across the price spectrum, and the strongest bidding concentrated around the independent makers rather than the established Swiss houses that usually anchor live sales. The result closes out a busy first week of October for watch auctions in the United States, coming just after Sotheby's held its first live sale at The Macallan Estate in Scotland, where a 1926 bottle fetched $2.81 million, and alongside Bonhams' New York watch sale. Taken together, the week's figures suggest collectors remain willing to stretch for trophy lots even as the luxury market grows more selective.