Sotheby's Important Watches sale in Geneva closed on 9 November with a total of more than $32 million, the house said, ending a week in which Phillips set a $112.3 million record and Christie's posted a $58 million white-glove result in the same city. The two sessions, held on 8 and 9 November at the Mandarin Oriental, covered lots 1 to 188, following a preview exhibition from 5 to 7 November.

The top lot was a yellow gold Patek Philippe Sky-Moon Tourbillon ref. 5002, a double-dialled wristwatch with twelve complications. It sold for CHF 2,292,000 after fierce bidding in the room and on the phones, with auctioneer Edoardo Bolla taking the final bids. The watch had carried an estimate of CHF 1 million to CHF 3 million.

The sale's most notable record belonged to a quieter-looking watch. The first production Patek Philippe ref. 3970, a yellow gold perpetual calendar chronograph bearing movement number 875'000, the lowest serial number of the reference, sold for CHF 2,048,000. First sold at Patek Philippe's Geneva boutique on Rue du Rhone in January 1987, the watch had not been offered at auction for more than a decade. Its result set a new benchmark for the reference, passing the CHF 1,397,000 paid for a 3970EP-038 last year.

Other strong results included a George Daniels Millennium, made by Roger Smith under Daniels' direction, at CHF 1.5 million, and an F.P. Journe Ruthenium Octa Chronographe at CHF 1,216,000. A tonal pink Voutilainen Reference 2 sold for more than $400,000. The sale also included the Lion Collection, twelve watches assembled by a Singaporean collector and offered as a group within the sale.