All You need to know about the Andy Warhol Rolex Auction!
We are used to seeing Andy Warhol pieces auction of for millions and millions, and in fact his last headline auction saw his 1981-1982 Gun, which was part of a New York collection, sell for $9.5 million! However, this is not what we are interested in today, as his latest auction is expected to sell for a mere $300k at the Highest. This may sound tiny compared to the millions that we are used to seeing his masterpieces sell for, however, this masterpiece was not created by Warhol himself, this one was created by Rolex. The Rolex auction is set to be sold at Christie’s at its Rare Watch Auction in Geneva (and online) on May 12.
The Rolex Oyster Chronographe Anti-Magnetique, owned by Warhol, has been described by the auction house as “an extremely rare and highly attractive stainless steel and pink gold chronograph wristwatch with bracelet.” They have given the timepiece a pre-sale estimate of a huge $200,000 to $300,000. This may not seem so big compared t some of his classic paintings and works, but in the world of watches that is a large amount! but if you’re looking for some really, really expensive watches, then this article is the one for you!
Known to his friends as “Andy’s Stuff”, the inveterate collectors collection was auctioned off after his death in a huge 10 day long auction, held by the world famous Sotheby’s New York between 23rd April and 3rd May in 1988. Following this sale event, more of his personal items, including watches and jewellery were also auctioned in December of the same year, one of which is the Rolex Oyster ref. 3525 that is back on sale again this year. It was reported, by the New York Times that more than 7,000 people were browsing and bidding on the 1988 auction, with the total of the sale amounting to $5.3 million, which is even more than the auction house had predicted!
The Andy Warhol Rolex Auction is not alone when it comes up for sale early next month, as there will also be the pocket watch of one Jean-Adrien Philippe on sale, which is expected to reach between $50k and $100k on the day. You may just recognize the surname of Jean-Adrien, as the co-founder of Patek Philippe, this pocket watch is definitely expected to receive a large amount of interest too! These pieces will go up for auction along side a whole host of other horological stars, including a stainless steel Rolex known as the “Jean-Claude Killy,” which gets its name from the gold-medal skier who favored this model. Not one that he owned himself, just the one he preferred, however it is still expected to reach around $500k at auction.
We are looking forward to seeing how much the Andy Warhol pink gold Rolex goes for in May, and hope that it gets nearly as much interest as some of the pop artists best works!
