After a Record-Breaking Auction, Sotheby’s Watch Department Gets a Leadership Shake Up
After Sylvester Stallone’s Patek Philippe Grand Master Chime sold for USD$5.4 million, Geoff Hess, Sotheby’s former head of watches for the Americas, and international watch specialist Sam Hines have both been promoted.
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When Sotheby’s held its Important Watches sale in New York on June 5, Sly Stallone’s Patek Philippe Reference 6300G-010 Grandmaster Chime sold for USD$5.4 million in an atmosphere that bore little resemblance to the staid, conservative auctions of yesteryear. That specific sale—the highest ever for a modern watch at Sotheby’s—even upset the leadership of Patek Philippe.
“We tried to create an auction room experience—there were cocktail tables, a hot dog stand activation and champagne bottles were popping,” Geoff Hess, the house’s new global head of watches, told Robb Report days before news of his promotion, from head of watches for the Americas, was made public last week.
“The watch world benefits from something other luxury categories don’t and that is an incredible global sense of community,” Hess said. “We’re going to focus on ensuring our clients not only receive great service but also on immersing them into our community.”
That statement could well serve as Hess’s mission statement as he plots the future of Sotheby’s watch auction business. Together with Sam Hines—who has returned to the auction house as the new Hong Kong-based chairman of the watches department, following a two-year stint as managing director of Loupe This, the online watch auctioneer founded by Eric Ku and Justin Gruenberg—Hess will focus on creating more events (“There will definitely be a RollieFest2025,” he said) as well as social content.
Sotheby’s
“We had not less than eight videos at our auction yesterday, helping to bring our watches to life,” Hess said.
He also referred to Sotheby’s Rough Diamonds auction in April when the auctioneer teamed with the watch magazine Heist-Out to stage a live sale dedicated to avant-garde and overlooked vintage timepieces. The location? A wine cellar in downtown Geneva.
“How fantastic that an entity like Sotheby’s would embrace the notion of bringing 200 people into a cave,” he said. “We can leverage on the down trend in prices to recognise that more than ever before clients want to enjoy the auction experience.”
Meanwhile, Hines is due to begin his role in Hong Kong at the end of June, in time for the opening of Sotheby’s new Maison at Landmark Chater at the end of July, marking the start of an exciting new chapter for the house’s operations in Asia.
“In Hong Kong, the auction business was a seasonal business — spring and fall — and the auction houses would rent the Hong Kong Convention Center for weeklong exhibitions and auctions,” Hines said. “But Sotheby’s is now opening this dedicated space so auctions will take place within the Sotheby’s home. We’ll have flexibility to hold auctions all year round. The space has many floors. There will be a retail space, a gallery space, all really groundbreaking for the Asian business.”
Cartier
Hines said the changes coincide with global shifts in the watch auction world that include the emergence of a new generation of influential Asian collectors.
“Twenty years ago, the Asian market was very small compared to the U.S. or Europe,” Hines said. “But it’s growing at rates where it’s rivaling traditional selling centres. Some of the biggest buyers in the world are in Asia now. So the Asian sales are like what New York was 10 to 15 years ago.”
He also noted new opportunities to deviate from the traditional selling calendar.
“Sotheby’s management globally is looking at why do we have to sell in October and April?” he added. “If an exciting sale could take place in August, why not?”
The sales calendar isn’t the only thing up for revision. In February, Sotheby’s announced a simplified fee structure, which went into effect on May 20. Designed to attract new buyers and sellers, the house now charges buyers a rate of 20 percent (down from 26 percent) on purchases with a hammer value up to USD$6 million and 10 percent of the portion of the hammer price above USD$6 million, applicable to all Sotheby’s auctions globally, excluding cars, real estate, wine and spirits.
Hess said the recent New York Important Watches sale reflected the fruits of the simplified and more accessible pricing. “We had over 1,400 registered bidders yesterday,” he said, noting that the figure represented an increase of 400 registered bidders compared with last June. “That’s a jaw dropping number, meaningfully larger than five years ago. Moreover, more than one-third of our buyers yesterday were new.”
While both Hess and Hines acknowledged the recent downturn in secondary watch prices, they emphasised that it was not a reflection of anyone’s enthusiasm for watches.
“When people ask about the current state of the market, we talk about a meaningful down trend, but the reality is the fun is back in collecting,” Hess said. “I definitely see collectors embracing smaller watches than ever before. It used to be that 36 mm watches suffered a little bit because they were smaller than the 40 mm sport watches that people got excited about. Now there’s less of that. Certain brands will benefit and certain references.
“And you’d have to be living under a rock not to see the uptick in interest in Cartier,” he added. “People are embracing new case shapes and smaller cases and naturally, Cartier would be a perfect fit. The brands are recognizing that, too: AP just came out with their mini Royal Oak yesterday. That’s not a coincidence.
“It’s less about a specific brand that’s hotter than others. It’s about size, shape and also price. That’s the reason why we say the fun is back in collecting. The thrill of the hunt is much more powerful now. Buyers have more choice now than they had recently. That allows you to seek out value buys and that leads to people enjoying the hobby more.”
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Show Stopping Fun
Robb Report Australia and New Zealand teamed up with Sydney Harbour Concours d’Elegance in late February to celebrate a weekend of fine motor cars on Cockatoo Island.
Robb Report Australia & New Zealand and Citizen Kanebridge, the new private members’ club brought to you by this masthead’s publishers, offers exclusive access to magical experiences and unrivalled networking.
This year’s Sydney Harbour Concours d’Elegance on Cockatoo Island did not disappoint. Our invited guests—including speakers Gerard Doyle, General Manager ASX Refinitiv Charity Foundation; Ant Middleton, the British adventure and TV personality turned hydration-drink disruptor and owner R3SUP; and Lex Pedersen, CEO of automotive investment firm Chrome Temple—enjoyed unlimited access to the three-day event and an elegant sufficiently of Champagne, wine and whisky, as well as an exquisite catered lunch inside the Citizen Kanebridge Private Members’ Lounge. They enhanced their experience by VIP transport to and from the mainland via superyacht.
The British-born event, which also has iterations at Pebble Beach in California and Hampton Court Palace in England, once again teamed up with the world’s most prestigious marques (among them Aston Martin, Bentley, Brabus, Genesis, Lamborghini, McLaren, Rolls-Royce and Porsche), to display their latest supercars alongside the pageant of owner-driven vintage vehicles.
On Sunday, Robb Report’s Editor-in-Chief Horacio Silva treated guests to a special preview of the winners of this our annual Car of the Year awards, showcased in our coming March 2025 issue. Our lips are sealed.
To learn how to become a member of our exclusive new community, visit Citizen Kanebridge.
Thank you to the following sponsors: Whisky and Wealth, Jacob & Co, Wine Selectors, Mulpha, Jackson Teece, Young Henry’s and Resup.
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Patron’s New Ultra-Premium Tequila Is a Reposado Blend That Punches Way Above Its Age
Patron’s latest luxury tequila is a blend of ages.
There are certain categories in the tequila world that indicate how long the spirit has been matured, so what happens when you combine a few of them together into one release? Patron is the latest brand to get in on this multiple-maturation blending action with the new high-end El Alto release, a combination of tequilas aged for different lengths of time.
In the whisky world, an age statement represents the minimum age of the liquid that’s in the bottle—in other words, a 10-year-old scotch may have liquid much older than that in the blend, but 10 years represents the minimum age. When it comes to tequila, there are also rules in regards to how it has to be labelled based on maturation, and like whisky that depends on the youngest liquid in the blend. The core of El Alto is an extra anejo tequila (the exact proportion isn’t revealed), meaning it was aged for a minimum of three years. But master distiller David Rodriguez decided to blend some anejo (aged one to three years) and reposado (two months to one year) tequila into the mix as well, making this an expression that is defined as reposado instead of extra anejo even though it has some ultra-aged liquid in the blend.
According to the brand, 11 different types of barrels were used to mature the tequila in El Alto, with the majority being hybrid barrels consisting of American oak bodies and French oak heads—each type of wood is thought to impart different flavours into the spirit. “The tequilas that harmoniously come together in Patron El Alto are a result of selecting the finest 100 percent Weber blue agave in the highest parts of Jalisco, Mexico, a territory known for producing the sweetest agaves,” said Rodriguez in a statement. “We took four years to focus on only the best of the best and perfect the bold, sweet flavors of this expression the right way: naturally.”
This type of multi-aged tequila seems to be part of a growing trend, with a few other brands releasing similar high-end expressions including Cincoro and Volcan de Mi Tierra. Perhaps it’s a way of stretching supplies or a tactic to get consumers to dip their toes (or tongues, preferably) into another luxe tequila, a category that is growing every year.
This month Australians are getting an exclusive taste of the El Alto as this formerly USA-exclusive release is launching here with The Bacardi Group. You can find El Alto in selected hospitality venues and at Barrel & Batch for $298 as these chic spots that represent the “pinnacle of celebrating momentous occasions,” according to the brand.
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Neutral, Not Boring: How to Wear This Season’s Most Stylish New Menswear
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Stylists Naomi Rougeau and Alex Badia, teamed up with photographer Brad Torchia to create these casual looks that turn a bold statement into a confident whisper.
Berluti leather jacket, $14,067; L.B.M. 1911 merino crewneck, $450; Dolce & Gabbana linen trousers, $1,921; Zenith 37 mm Chronomaster Revival in steel, $13,987.
Umit Benan silk jacket, silk shirt, and linen trousers, all prices upon request; Dolce & Gabbana suede loafers, $1600; Girard-Perregaux 38 mm Laureato Sage Green in steel, $23,954.
Brunello Cucinelli linen shirt, $1500; Loro Piana linen trousers, $908; Zenith 37 mm Chronomaster Revival in steel, $13,987.
Anderson & Sheppard cotton jacket, $4,421; Gabriela Hearst cashmere turtleneck, $1,430; Louis Vuitton cotton jeans, $2n138; Tod’s suede sneakers, $1438.
Canali wool, silk, and linen tweed blazer, $4,011; Thom Sweeney silk shirt, $876; Paul Smith mohair trousers, $908; Church’s patent-leather loafers, $1,768; Parmigiani Fleurier 40 mm Tonda PF Micro-Rotor No Date Golden Siena in steel and platinum, $40,675.
Paul Smith cotton trench, $3528; Ferragamo cashmere sweater, $1,752, and cotton trousers, $4389; Dolce & Gabbana suede loafers, $1599.
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Loro Piana cotton cardigan, $4,381, and linen shirt, $1,768; Todd Snyder linen trousers, $639; Zegna Triple Stitch leather sneakers, $1,768; Morgenthal Frederics sunglasses, $2,564; Berluti silk scarf, $1,221; Parmigiani Fleurier 40 mm Tonda PF Micro-Rotor No Date Golden Siena in steel and platinum, $40,675.
Thom Sweeney cashmere and merino sweater, $956; Brunello Cucinelli linen shorts, $1045; Manolo Blahnik raffia and leather loafers, $1,438.; Leisure Society sunglasses, $1905; Zenith 37 mm Chronomaster Revival in steel, $13,987.
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This New York Jewellery Gallery Is Offering up a Treasure Trove of Vintage Watches
The Mahnaz Collection’s first formal collection of timepieces will include rare finds with fascinating histories
There was a period when Mahnaz Ispahani Bartos found it hard to hold on to a watch. The prominent collector and dealer often would post pictures on social media of the uncommon, sculptural timepieces she purchased for herself. But every time, clients of her eponymous jewellery gallery—New York City’s Mahnaz Collection—would hound her into selling them.
“They found those photographs, and they are just diligent in bothering me,” she says with a laugh, adding that some would simply persist until she changed her mind about letting them go.
In response to that demand, this month her Madison Avenue space will begin offering its first formal collection of unique watches, curated with the same rigor and studious eye Ispahani Bartos has applied to sourcing rare jewellery. (Her specialty is the hard-to-find fare made by artists, designers, goldsmiths, and architects.) One coveted example is a gold-and-diamond pendant watch handmade by the late Italian-born avant-garde designer Andrew Grima, whose work was beloved by the British royal family. This example from his historic collaboration with Omega was made in the 1970s. Lesser known but no less noteworthy is the Spanish designer Augustin Julia-Plana, who created a gold-and-jadeite watch for his brand Schlegel & Plana, also in the ’70s. “He was a great jeweller and watch designer,” says Ispahani Bartos of Julia-Plana, who penned striking and visually creative work for everyone from Chopard to Tiffany. “He specialised in really unusual stones,” she adds, noting that he died far too young at age 41.
Photographed by Janelle Jones/Styled by Stephanie Yeh
Ispahani Bartos knows something about legacy. Born in Bangladesh—when it was still called East Pakistan—she grew up in a culture steeped in traditions of wearing and appreciating jewellery. She recalls her grandmother giving her earrings made from yellow gold, turquoise, diamonds, and Burmese rubies at age 7. (Too young to wear them, she put them on her dolls’ ears for safekeeping. Both were lost when her family fled the violence of the country’s 1971 revolution; the ship carrying their belongings, she says, was sunk by an enemy carrier.)
When she was a teenager, her mother gifted her one of Omega’s Grima-designed watches, which she still owns. That early introduction to rare design influenced her own collecting journey, which turned into her full-time job when she opened her gallery in 2013.
Photographed by Janelle Jones/Styled by Stephanie Yeh
That comprehensive approach befits Ispahani Bartos’s previous career and intellectual curiosity. After earning a Ph.D. in international relations, she served as a foreign- and security-policy expert for an array of global organisations, including the Ford Foundation and the Council on Foreign Relations.
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Penfolds Saves Best For Last with Show-Stopping Release with Creative Partner NIGO
Penfolds has just dropped their limited-edition 65F by NIGO Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz, a mouthwatering wine you need to nab now.
Though Penfolds holds many wonderful wines in its star-studded suite, their latest collaboration with NIGO is earmarked as a sure-fire collector’s item.
Retailing for $395 a bottle, the Penfolds 65F by NIGO is expected to sit snugly alongside the likes of Grange and Bin 389 as a standout single-vintage wine connoisseurs will vie for in years to come.
This prize wine isn’t just delicious and highly collectible, it looks the part. It features branding by artistic director and creative visionary NIGO, the founder of cult streetwear brands A Bathing Ape and Human Made, a pal of Pharrell Williams and current creative director of French fashion house Kenzo. For the box and packaging NIGO was inspired by the towering 65-foot chimney that prevails over Penfolds South Australian home, Magill Estate.
Penfolds archival material served as NIGO’s inspiration for the inclusions within the gift box and on the wine label. A chalkboard wine tag with coinciding chalk pencil pays homage to the chalk boards used in the original working winery at Penfolds Magill Estate and allows the opportunity for personalisation of the wine if used as a gift. The bottle label features a design which takes inspiration from the pressed bottle labels from the 1930-50s, and the tissue paper wrapping the bottle has been adapted from the Penfolds logo style used in the early 20th century. NIGO’s signature playful design style is emphasised with a chimney smoke wine stopper.
Inside it’s a classic embodiment of the way South Australian winemakers blend cabernet sauvignon with shiraz to stunning effect.
As a result this wine has a mouth-watering palate with plenty of fine grain tannins and silky mouth feel. A nose enriched with spicy nutmeg, cardamom and cassis is layered over blueberry compote and lush fig on a palate. There’s lots of blueberry soufflé, gamey tones and just a hint of fennel seed, with more complexity to come as the years fly by.
All the base wines were sourced from grapes grown in South Australia’s top wine regions of Coonawarra, Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale and Clare Valley. And while the 65F by NIGO Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz is being released now, it will continue to reward cellaring for years to come.
Penfolds first announced NIGO as its Creative Partner in June 2023, with the global release of One by Penfolds. This was closely followed by the launch of Grange by NIGO (the first takeover of Penfolds flagship red wine) in February 2024, followed by Holiday Designed by NIGO in October 2024.A classic for the ages.
Penfolds 65F by NIGO Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz 2021 is available globally from Thursday 27 February 2025 (RRP AUD$395.00 for 750ml). Available via Penfolds.com, at select Dan Murphy’s stores nationally and select independent retailers.
