Culture / Auctions

A Rare Wristwatch Omega Tourbillon Auctioned off at Record $1.4 Million

History-changing for Omega Tourbillon as the wristwatch made in 1947 was sold for $1.4 Million at auction

Nov 17, 2017 | By Andrea Sim

Image courtesy of Phillips Watches

Back for their sixth watch auction, leading Watch Auction House,Ā Phillips, in association with Bacs & Russo sold a rare Omega Tourbillon at record CHF 1,428,500 (USD 1,433,330).

The recent Geneva Watch Auction is a platform which connects dedicated watch collectors to the most brilliant and iconic timepieces ever made in the last century.

USD 1.4 million was the world-record price paid for an Omega watch to-date after a lengthy bidding war of almost 19 minutes, whilst other buyers continued to bid against each other for the pre-owned watches at auction.

Featuring a Guillaume balance on the 37.5 mm stainless steel watch, Omega is powered by its Manual Calibre “30 I”, has a ā€œsigned dial and buckle and is accompanied by an extract from the OMEGA Archives, confirming the model’s production date of 1947ā€, according to Omega in the press release. ā€œThe watch is the only known period-completed Tourbillon “30 I” wristwatch-cased OMEGA in existence.”

Today, this unique Omega model, which has been undiscovered for decades, finally found its way to a new owner. It was directly manufactured in 1947 but was not part of the 12 movements known so far, and Omega mentioned that ā€œa fact that clearly underlines the importance of its discovery for the history of watchmaking and the brand.ā€


 
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