Matching sets are a motif of Phillips’ upcoming Hong Kong auction, with the most spectacular being the Concord Saratoga Splendour, a set of four minute repeating, high jewellery wristwatches representing the four precious stones – diamond, sapphire, ruby and emerald – each with a distinct movement made by Christophe Claret.

Also on offer is a set of three watches from Glashütte Original with Meissen porcelain dials, and a Patek Philippe Pagoda quartet.

Lot 857, a matching pair of Bovets depicting Hong Kong harbour by day and by night. Image – Phillips

Such sets enjoyed popularity at the top end of the market during the 1980s and 1990s, often centred around the four precious coloured stones, diamonds, emeralds, rubies, and sapphires. Perhaps the ultimate example of the matched set is the most complicated Patek Philippe watch, the Calibre 89, that was originally launched as a set of four in yellow, rose, and white gold, and platinum. Unfortunately, many of these sets have since been split up. Can these three escape that fate?

Lots 858 to 862 – Concord Saratoga Splendour Set

Concord was one of a few brands that saw great, but ephemeral, success during the 1980s and 1990s, in the same vein as Gerald Genta, Ebel, and Corum. In 1995 Concord launched the Saratoga Exor, a minute repeating tourbillon with perpetual calendar and bimetallic thermometer, set with 15.85 carats of baguette diamonds.

With a price tag of CHF2 million, it was probably the second most expensive watch ever sold by the brand, after the men’s Sirius jewellery watch (64.16 carats of diamonds). Yet Concord quickly found a buyer for the watch, and set about making a followup.

Concord Saratoga Exor. Also sold by Phillips Hong Kong. Image – Phillips, May 2016

That followup would be the Saratoga Splendour, a set of four watches themed around the four precious stones – diamond, sapphire, ruby, and emerald, for CHF3 million. Concord named the watches after the old French words for each stone – Adamas, Sapphirus, Rubeus, and Esmeraude, each of which is hand engraved on the respective case back.

The Splendeur series takes after the Exor, with the same 42 mm platinum Saratoga case, which would have been 30 m water resistant when new – surpassing most repeaters today. The Splendours’ gem setting however, is restrained by comparison with lower carat weights and smaller stones. Concord sold both the Exor and Splendour to collectors from Hong Kong – or possibly to a single collector.

Lot 861 – Concord Saratoga Splendour Adamas

The Adamas has only two hands, putting focus on the minute repeater and the 278 diamonds that total 9.92 carats.

As with the Exor, Christophe Claret made the movements using ebauche from Nouvelle Lemania. As proof of Lemania’s prominence in the repeater market at the time, three other watches in the present auction use the same base, from Ulysse Nardin (lot 823), Robergé (lot 884), and Breguet (lot 849).

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Adamas, being the most restrained Saratoga Splendour, carries the lowest estimate of the quartet, HK$250,000 – 500,000 ($32,100 – 64,100), which represents excellent value for money.

Lot 860 – Concord Saratoga Splendour Sapphires

Besides the blue sapphires on the case and buckle, Sapphirus also adds a moon phase and a strike barrel power reserve indicator. The latter isn’t very useful, but found brief adoption during the 1990s and 2000s, especially by Franck Muller – another one of Christophe Claret’s customers.

The Saratoga Splendour Sapphirus has the highest estimate of the tetrad, HK$400,000 – 800,000 (US$51,300 – 103,000) surpassing even the more complicated Esmeraude.

Lot 859 – Concord Saratoga Splendour Rubeus

Rubeus is the penultimate watch in the series, and the most quirky. The dial appears use the ubiquitous Dubois Depraz perpetual calendar also found on the Exor, though with the moon phase and day omitted. It is set with 327 diamonds (6.43 carats) and of 32 (2.95 carats) rubies.

It uses the same bimetallic thermometer as the Exor, but this time mounded on the front. Its mechanism is visible and easy to understand from the back.

The strip comprises a layer of brass and a layer of steel fused together. The mismatch in coefficient of thermal expansion between the who materials causes the arms to deflect with changes in temperature. A rack transmits this motion of the thermometer hand on the dial.

Perhaps the most individually interesting of the group, Rubeus has an estimate of HK$250,000 – 550,000 (US$32,100 – 70,500).

Lot 858 – Concord Saratoga Splendour Esmeraude

Last is Esmeraude, representing the most precious of precious stones, with a full Dubois Depraz perpetual calendar on top and a tourbillon on back. The movement decoration of all four – but especially the Esmeraude – is traditional and assuredly manual.

It has the same charming, nineties-era industrial-artisanal character of many other haute horlogerie brands. Certainly a contrast from the glossy, perfect finishing we’ve come to expect today.

The quatrain’s final and most most complicated line, Esmeraude, has an estimate of HK$300,000 – 600,000 (US$38,500 – 76,900), which is, again, fantastic value for money.

Lot 862 – Concord Saratoga Splendour Fitted Box

Concord delivered the set in a grandiose fitted wooden box fitted with automatic winders for all four watches. According to Concord, the Exor’s winder had a battery life of seven years, presumably the Splendeur is about the same, as even though there are four times as many watches, the box is also larger.

Image – Phillips

The box is in surprisingly good condition, evidently built to last – not true of all boxes then and now – free of cracked and flaking PU-leather. While the box has an estimate of HK$10,000 – 20,000 (US$1,300 – 2,600) on its own, Phillips will offer it as a complementary gift if a single buyer wins all four.

Lot 897 – Patek Philippe Ref. 5500P Pagoda

A less vivacious matching set comprises all four metals of the neo-vintage Patek Philippe Pagoda, including the elusive platinum model.

Patek Philippe commemorated its 1997 move from La function in downtown Geneva to the Plan-les-Ouates with seven limited edition watches inspired by the vintage “Eiffel Tower” cases ref. 2441 and 2295 made from the late forties to mid fifties.

Image – Phillips

At the time, Plan-les-Ouates was mid-transition from empty fields to the industrial park we know today. Patek Philippe was one of the first watchmakers in Plan-les-Ouates, but many others followed, most notably Rolex in 2005.

Image – Phillips

Patek Philippe claimed to have destroyed the tooling used to stamp the cases after producing 2000 of the men’s Gondolo ref. 5500, and 750 of the ladies’s 4900.

While 2000 watches is hardly limited, especially for Patek Philippe during the 1990s, production by case metal was highly asymmetric. The yellow gold ref. 5500J was the most common (1100 pieces) followed by rose gold ref. 5500R (500) and white gold ref. 5500G with salmon dial (250). Only 150 exist in platinum, making the ref. 5500P rarer than say, a ref. 5004P.

Image – Phillips

A COSC timing certificate accompanies each Pagoda, in addition to a small silver medal engraved with a depiction of the factory.

Image – Phillips

The platinum ref. 5500P carries the highest estimate of the bunch, HK$120,000 – 200,000 (US$15,400 – 25,600).

Lot 881  – Glashütte Original x Meissen Mingdragon Blue Ref. 49-08-08-06-06

The catalog includes a matching set of three Glashütte Original watches with hand pained porcelain dials – fruit of a collaboration between Glashütte Original and the Meissen porcelain factory, both in Saxony. Hard-paste porcelain is a type of ceramic originally developed in China during the 7th century, which then spread across east Asia.

Image – Phillips

All three Mingdragon watches are the first of their respective limited editions. This white gold example with blue Mingdragon is one of 50, with an estimate of HK$70,000 – 120,000 (US$9,000 – 15,400).

Lot 880  – Glashütte Original x Meissen Mingdragon Green Ref. 49-08-09-21-06

For a time, porcelain was a rare and luxurious material in Europe, until in the early 1700s when Johann Friedrich Böttger reverse engineered the process. Böttger estbalished continental Europe’s first porcelain factory in Meissen. Soon after, the Meissen factory adopted the iconic crossed-swords trademark to differeiate itself as more porcelain manufactures sprung up across Europe.

Image – Phillips

The cal. GUB 49 powers all three Mingdragons – one of Glashütte Original’s more upscale movements of the time. It is handsomely decorated, highlights including the exposed winding wheels and black polished whip-lash regulator.

Image – Phillips

The green Min dragon is number one of 90 pieces, and beautifully complemented by a yellow gold case. The estimate is a quite tempting HK$70,000 – 120,000 (US$9,000 – 15,400).

Lot 879  – Glashütte Original x Meissen Mingdragon Purple Ref. 49-08-07-13-06

One of Meissen’s most iconic designs in the “Ming-Dragon”, which was developed in the early 20th century. The world was less connected then, so it is understandable, it somewhat amusing, that German porcelain works didn’t know Chinese dragons are supposed to have five claws.

Image – Phillips

The trio all come with their original boxes and paperwork, including loupes to inspect the hand painted dials. The watches in perfect condition, though the “leather” has started to break down.

Image – Phillips

The final and most limited Mingdragon is purple, cased in platinum, and number one of 40. The estimate is HK$70,000 – 120,000 (US$9,000 – 15,400).

Preview and auction

The sale and preview exhibition will take place at Phillips Hong Kong in the West Kowloon Cultural District.

Preview
Open daily November 15-23, 2025, from 10:00 am-7:00 pm

Auction
November 21 – 2:00 pm (Session I lots 801 – 901)
November 22 – 2:00 pm (Session II lots 902 – 1014)
November 23 – 2:00 pm (Session III lots 1015 – 1123)

(All times are local to Hong Kong, GMT+8.)

G/F WKCDA Tower
Cultural District
8 Austin Road West
Kowloon, Hong Kong

For the full catalogue, visit Phillips.com.

This was brought to you in partnership with Phillips.