A thematic sale of watches related to Japan, Toki just concluded at Phillips in Hong Kong over the weekend, notching up HK$61.8 million with fees, equivalent to US$7.95 million. Comprised of watches sold in Japan or made for the country, the catalogue included familiar names like Seiko and Casio, but also independent watchmakers like Masahiro Kikuno, along with a host of limited editions by Swiss brands for the Japanese market.

A novel concept given the dominance of Swiss brands in watch auctions, both in terms of value and volume, Toki surprised on the upside. The 115-lot auction included lots of surprising and notable results, like HK$1.14 million (about US$147,000) for the Casio G-Shock Dream Project, double the original retail price.

Thomas Perazzi at the rostrum. Image – Phillips

Toki and the subsequent main sale showed the momentum established during the Geneva auctions two weeks ago carried on into Hong Kong. The strength of the sale is also credit to the Phillips watch department in Asia led by Thomas Perazzi, which conceived Toki a year ago with the help of Tokyo-based consultants for Phillips, Kaz Fujimoto and Genki Sakamoto.

The unusual theme was realised well with a carefully curated catalogue. Many of the watches in Toki were simply unavailable anywhere else. With only 35 made and all sold via a lottery in 2020, where else can one find a solid-gold G-Shock?

This reflected in the diverse nature of the bidders. Most bids in the sale came from phone bidders and online participants from as location as faraway as Oregon and Kuwait. The strength of bidding propelled some watches to unexpected prices, a phenomenon seen for both modern and vintage timepieces.

The G-Shock Dream Project

Big numbers for esoteric watches

Amongst the biggest results for modern watches was the Seiko Credor Eichi I that sold for HK$1.78 million (equivalent to US$228,000), about four times the original retail price, after admirably determined bidding by a pair of phone bidders, one likely in Asia and the other in the United States.

Only 25 of them were made, way back in 2011 – when we were amongst the first to feature the watch anywhere – so it is certainly rare. And the current production Eichi II is recognisably different, though comparable and similar in several respects. The rarity, along with the current fad for high-end time-only watches, helps explain the price.

Interestingly, the sale also saw a Roger W. Smith Series 2 in white gold sell for HK$3.43 million or US$441,000, but with less spirited bidding. The Series 2 sold for double the Eichi I, which would have been unthinkable until recently.

The Eichi I. Image – Phillips

A watch in the same category as the Eichi I – a high-quality time-only chronometer – also did well, perhaps reflecting the same level of knowledge and appreciation on the part of the buyer.

A bidder from Kuwait won the Seiko Astronomical Observatory Chronometer for HK$444,500 (about US$57,000). Though this example had a later display back (and not the original numbered back), the watch is still one of just 200 or so made by Seiko from 1968 to 1970, all of which were tested and certified by the Neuchatel Observatory.

The result is the ballpark value for the model, but notable nonetheless as this is the first example of the watch to sell at an international watch auction.

The Astronomical Observatory Chronometer. Image – Phillips

Also part of the sale were several offerings consigned by Japanese independent watchmakers. It was Masahiro Kikuno’s debut at an international watch auction, and his Tourbillon 2012 sold for HK$2.29 million, or about US$294,000.

The watch was largely hand made by Mr Kikuno, a talented one-man maker, which no doubt helped the price. That said, the movement is based on the architecture of an ETA Unitas, which is forgivable given this was made early in his career.

Equipped with an even more modest movement but also outperforming – perhaps entirely irrationally – were a pair of Otsuka Lotec Model No. 6 watches that sold for over 30 times the retail price thanks to the same phone bidders on both. Both are Miyota-powered watches are sold only in Japan via an online lottery, making them difficult to obtain, but unlike Mr Kikuno’s work, they possess little or no artisanal craft, making the price difficult to rationalise.

The sale also included Swiss watches new and old. The vintage watches were in sterling condition, underlining Japan’s reputation as a place where watches are usually preserved in fine condition.

Amongst the most intriguing vintage watches in the sale were a matched pair of oversized, 44.5 mm Universal Geneve watches with consecutive case numbers. Though unmarked, both feature an unusual scale on the dial and fixed bars for the strap, indicating they were probably made for the military or a professional organisation.

The two watches were the subject of a prolonged bidding war between two online bidders – likely the same bidders for both watches – who went toe to toe, grinding it out over 40 minutes for both watches in one of the longest online bidding battles I can recall.  They sold for HK$762,000 each, or about US$98,000, to the Swiss online bidder who paid almost ten times the low estimate, reflecting the fact that both are probably unique and definitely interesting.

The matched pair of 44.5 mm watches

Also Swiss but brand new was the Hublot Classic Fusion Takashi Murakami, a unique version of the Japanese contemporary artist’s smiling flower watch that remains one of the best artist-watchmaker collaborations.

This sold swiftly and easily: there were numerous bidders initially, but soon it was down to a lively room bidder in a Murakami cap against a phone bidder. Arguably more appealing as a Murakami creation than a watch, this sold for HK$2.10 million, or about US$270,000, all of which goes to a Swiss cancer charity.

The unique Classic Fusion Takashi Murakami Black Ceramic Rainbow

Notably, only one watch in the sale passed, and it wasn’t Japanese. In fact, it was arguably a watch that is least distinctly Japanese: a Royal Oak Offshore Tourbillon Chronograph.

Though it was part of a 20-piece limited edition made for Tokyo retailer Yoshida, it is mostly indistinguishable from other editions of the same model. That, along with the fact that the oversized Offshore is somewhat out of fashion now, explains why it passed even with a low estimate much lower than retail.