The serious trade in serious watches is, contrary to the impression a reader might form from the trade press, conducted in the main outside the auction houses. The observation is not a criticism; it is a description of how the trade has, in fact, been organised for as long as the trade has existed.
The auction system handles a small fraction of the year's serious transactions in the metal. The serious transactions — in pieces of historical significance, in pieces with documented provenance to a notable owner, in pieces of which only a small number were produced — are conducted privately, between principals who have known each other for the better part of their careers.
The reasons are not mysterious. The auction system serves certain interests — the consignor seeking the broadest possible market, the institution seeking to test a price publicly — and it serves them well. The owner who wishes to dispose of a serious piece without it appearing in a catalogue, the buyer who wishes to acquire one without competing for it in public — these are served better by the older private channels.
The pricing in the private channel deserves a separate observation. The popular view is that the private market trades at a discount to the public one, on the theory that the seller forgoes the broader audience in exchange for privacy. The view is not quite correct. In many categories the private market trades at a premium, for reasons obvious on reflection: the buyer is, very often, a buyer for whom the piece has been specifically identified, and whose interest in not competing publicly is itself a thing for which he is willing to pay.
The Maison advises members on both sides of this calculation. The decisions are taken on the merits of the particular case and with the particular member's long-term interests in view. Our compensation does not vary according to which decision is reached, and we are at some pains to ensure that members understand this.
— Spring 2025