Christie's watch sales rise 39% as Guillemin takes global role
Geneva's May rare watch sale made $42.2 million, which the house calls its highest various-owner watch result. Hong Kong made $35.7 million in the same month, up 40% on the year.
By The Auctions Desk
What changed
Christie's watch sales grew. Christie's worldwide watch sales rose 39% year on year in the first half of 2026. The house named Remi Guillemin global head of watches, based in Geneva.
What it means
- If you consign a watch this autumn: the Geneva and Hong Kong rooms both set the pace in May. The specialist teams now report to one head.
- If you price vintage Audemars Piguet: a vintage piece passed $2.6 million at Christie's. A Cartier wristwatch passed $2 million.
- What this is not: a market total. These are one house's own figures, in its own release.
Key figures
| Worldwide watch salesfirst half, year on year | +39% |
|---|---|
| Geneva, May 2026house's highest various-owner sale | $42.2m |
| Hong Kong, May 2026up 40% on the year | $35.7m |
| Richard Mille RM 56-02Christie's New York record | >$3m |
Source: Christie's own figures, first half and May 2026 · release dated 3 September 2026
One head for two regions
Guillemin moves up. Remi Guillemin becomes global head of watches at Christie's, based in Geneva. He was head of watches for the Americas and for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
He reports to luxury. Guillemin reports to Kimberly Miller, Christie's global managing director of luxury. He has spent more than a decade at the house.
May 2026 watch sales · $ millions
Source: Christie's release · 3 Sep 2026 · Hammer plus premium, house-reported
May carried the first half
Geneva set the record. The Geneva rare watches sale in May made $42.2 million, which Christie's calls the highest various-owner watch auction result in its history.
Hong Kong grew faster. Hong Kong's important watches sale in the same month made $35.7 million, up 40% year on year. Worldwide first-half watch sales rose 39%.
| Sale or measure | Figure | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Worldwide watch sales, first half | +39% | Year on year, house figure |
| Geneva rare watches, May | $42.2m | Highest various-owner watch sale, per Christie's |
| Hong Kong important watches, May | $35.7m | Up 40% year on year |
| Richard Mille RM 56-02 | Over $3m | Highest-priced watch sold by Christie's New York |
| Vintage Audemars Piguet | Over $2.6m | House record |
| Cartier wristwatch | Over $2m | House record |
Source. Christie's release naming Remi Guillemin global head of watches, 3 September 2026, read through Rapaport and Artdaily.
Every figure. is the house's own and none is independently audited.
Two house records in one release
Records at the top. A vintage Audemars Piguet passed $2.6 million and a Cartier wristwatch passed $2 million. Christie's New York sold a Richard Mille RM 56-02 for more than $3 million.
The frame matters. These figures reach the trade inside an appointment announcement rather than a results statement. Christie's is privately held and publishes no audited auction accounts.
What to watch
- 14-17 SepSotheby's Gem Drop, New York. The next dated jewellery total on the calendar.
- 24 SepMorphy Auctions' 357-lot fine jewelry and watch sale, Denver, Pennsylvania.
- Not yet datedChristie's next Geneva watch sale, the first under one global head.
The story so far
- $8.9 billion half: the auction market buys its way backChristie's $4.5bn first half, public auctions up 71%. Group level, no watch split.
- £59,000 in Penzance: a steel Patek beats its low estimate 11.8 timesA regional Cornish room made 11.8 times the low estimate on a steel Patek.
Go deeper
What would change this call
A second half in which Christie's watch total falls back and May's Geneva result reads as one exceptional sale. That would make 39% a single-season figure rather than a direction, and the consignment reading above would be withdrawn.
How these figures are made
Auction totals here are hammer price plus buyer's premium as the house reports them, for sales it conducted itself. Various-owner means a sale drawn from many consignors rather than from one collection, which is why a various-owner record is a different claim from a single-collection record. Christie's is privately held and its auction figures are not independently audited.
Method
No arithmetic was performed on these figures; each is Christie's own, as printed in its release of 3 September 2026. Carat Capital could not reach press.christies.com and read the release through two independent hosts carrying it: Rapaport News, dated 3 September, and Artdaily, dated 4 September. The two agree on the appointment, the Geneva base and Guillemin's prior roles; the auction figures appear in the Artdaily text and not in the shorter Rapaport report, so every figure in this article rests on one of the two, not on both. Archive checks on '$42.2', '$35.7' and 'Guillemin' across every published page returned no hit. On the period test this is the harder case: Carat Capital's 16 July piece already covers Christie's first half of 2026 at group level, $4.5 billion with public auctions up 71%. Same house, same period. It carries no watch-department figure, and +39% is not $4.5 billion, so this breaks out a category the earlier piece did not reach rather than repeating it.
Sources
- Christie's Promotes Remi Guillemin to Global Head of Watches - Rapaport News, 3 September 2026
- Remi Guillemin appointed Global Head of Watches for Christie's - Artdaily, 4 September 2026, carrying the release in full
- Christie's Names Remi Guillemin Global Head of Watches Following Strong Sales in U.S., Asia, Europe - WWD, 3 September 2026