Max Fawcett, Global Head of Jewellery, Christie's, selling The Bulgari Pink diamond in Geneva.l lanchou/Courtesy Christie's

Christie’s Posts Highest Watch Total Ever and Sells Bulgari Pink Diamond for $14 M.

by · ARTnews

The luxury market continues to be a major area of growth for the auction houses. Christie’s is holding its luxury sales week in Geneva, its biggest such event for jewelry and watches, and while the house hasn’t released its final totals for the week, early returns appear promising.

On Monday, Christie’s reported that its Rare Watches sale, held at the Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues, generated $58.7 million on 218 lots with a 100 percent sell-through rate by lot. That’s more than double the equivalent sale in November 2025, which generated $27 million on 179 lots with a 99% sell-through rate.

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Leading the sale was a trio of F.P. Journe Vagabondage I, II, and III watches in pink gold, which together brought in CHF 6.7 million ($8.2 million). Each one sold for well over its high estimate of CHF 800,000 ($976,000): the Vagabondage I went for CHF 2 million ($2.4 million), the Vagabondage II for CHF 2.2 million ($2.6 million), and the Vagabondage III for CHF 2.5 million ($3.1 million). The Vagabondage is a blue-chip watch by independent watchmaker F.P Journe, highly desired for its wandering digital display and produced in extremely limited numbers.

Christie’s Magnificent Jewels sale, meanwhile, generated $49.7 million on 112 lots. The top lot, a 24-carat Fancy Intense Pink emerald-cut diamond ring by Bulgari, sold for $14.8 million, squarely within its $12 million–$18 million estimate. That total fell well short of the $75 million achieved on 108 lots at the equivalent 2025 sale. That sale’s total, however, got a considerable boost from the Mellon Blue diamond, which accounted for $25.6 million of the take. Excluding the top lot from both sales reveals a slightly smaller but still significant decline: the remaining 111 lots this year brought in $34.9 million, down about 29 percent from the $49.4 million generated by the other 107 lots in 2025.

Still, one suspects that the auction house isn’t too worried. In July, Christie’s released its first-half totals for 2026, reporting that it posted its strongest six months 2021 with a overall total of $4.5 billion. Luxury sales, which includes watches and jewelry, were up 15 percent to $539 million.

Whether the second half of 2026 ends up as strong as Christie’s first half will ultimately depend on its marquee evening sales next week in New York, where some 850 artworks will hit the block and are expected to generate over $800 million. Luxury is on the rise, but for now, fine art is still king.