Patrizzi sets world record at watch auction

First published: 16-03-2010

Patrizzi and Co, a specialist watch auctioneer, has set a record for the sale of a Louis Cartier Tank watch in an art deco style, making $135,000 (£89,000) for the 1929 model at an auction earlier this month.

Held in New York, total sales in the auction reached $2,040,800 (£1,345,500), following the sale of just under two-thirds of the watches up for grabs - exactly 100 of the 161 lots going for sale, the National Jeweler Network reported.

The most expensive offering was a complicated Cartier Comet Clock that featured one of the most complex mechanisms ever created by the company, raking in no less than $250,000 (£164,825), with about 50 people attending the auction though many attended via phone call or the internet.

Osvaldo Patrizzi, president and CEO of Patrizzi and Co, said: "With this auction, Cartier and Rolex join Patek Philippe in the top tier for collectors.

"Breaking the world record for a platinum art deco Louis Cartier Tank at auction is a tremendous achievement."

This month French company CELSIUS X VI II announced the Remontage Papillon, a tourbillon mobile phone which introduces the mechanical movement of watches to a clamshell-design.