Found in idexonline.com

” Watch Sales in 2010 Break Records at Christie’s

(December 21, ’10, 5:41 IDEX Online Staff Reporter)

The Patek Philippe watch that sold for $5.7 million at Christie’s
(IDEX Online News) – Christie’s International ended a record-breaking year for fine and rare watches that realized $91.2 million in total sales, the highest annual total ever achieved for watches at the auction house. The top selling watch this year was a Patek Philippe Reference 1527 manufactured in 1943 that sold for a record $5.7 million at Christie’s Geneva.

According to the auction house, 2010 emerged as a remarkable year for investment in fine timepieces. Every Christie’s watch sale achieved sell-through rates above 90% by value.

We have welcomed in a wealth of new collectors to this field in the past year,” said Aurel Bacs, International Head of Watches at Christie’s, adding that they witnessed an “exponential growth in buyer participation from Asian countries,” primarily by China and Hong Kong.

Christie’s hosts eight major watch auctions each year in Dubai, Geneva, Hong Kong and New York. Top watches by Christie’s saleroom for 2010 included, in addition to the Patek Philippe Reference 1527, a Patek Philippe Reference 2523 that sold for $2.7 million to an Asian collector, a Patek Philippe Reference 2499 that sold for $1.2 million and a Patek Philippe Reference 5002P that fetched $1.1  million.”