It has been a difficult week at the Fall watch auctions in Geneva, but Pablo Picasso’s pulling power shows horological art can still pull in the big bucks.
An impressionist painting titled Femme a la Montre by the Spanish master, dating from 1932, shows Marie-Therese Walter, Picasso’s young lover at the time, seated seated in a throne-like chair and prominently showing her wristwatch.
Ms Walter was a French model who became known as Known as Picasso’s golden muse and was the subject of several paintings.
It was sold by Sotheby’s in Geneva at close to its pre-sale estimate of $120 million, plus fees.
The most expensive watch ever sold at auction was a unique Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime Ref. 6300A in steel that sold for $31-million at the Only Watch charity auction in 2019.
This season’s Geneva watch auctions have been blown off course by a combination of weakening demand after the record prices of vintage and contemporary pre-owned watches in recent years and the postponement of the Only Watch auction.
