Unlike last month's Geneva auctions, I watched the New York sales from afar this weekend. How to cover online auctions when the very idea of deals is being scrutinized from every angle is a question we'll save for just a moment. Controversy aside, there were some headlines worth covering through New York.

If there's one thing we can still agree on in the world of watches in 2023, it must be Roger Smith's importance. Pocket Watch No . 2 is the British watchmaker's most important watch, the one that convinced George Daniels that Smith was ready to be his protégé. It sold for $4. 9 million at Phillips over the weekend, setting a record for any British timepiece; Smith himself was on hand for sale, sitting in the front row. Pocket Watch No . 2 was the subject of an intense bidding war between a bidder on the phone with Phillips' Paul Boutros and a man sitting next to Smith in the room. Ultimately, the phone bidder took lot 12 (the phone bidder was so eager that, in one point, he tried to bid against himself). "It really is a profound moment for me, " Cruz said after the sale. "For the watch to have received such interest has also been very humbling. This certainly represents a major milestone in my own horological journey, but I also hope it is a meaningful statement with regard to British watchmaking, too. "

Smith posted about the view on his Instagram the day before the sale, seemingly most pleased that "the amplitude is still as lively as the day I completed its build 26 years ago. " Without having a service during all that time! You can't help but smile - the guy's a true watchmaker.

"It's the most important enjoy I've made, without a doubt, inch Smith said when we spoke about the upcoming sale earlier this year. "Everything was new for me. For every single component, I had to work out the best way to make it. How to shape and form components. How you can heat treat them correctly. After my first pocket watch, this was only the second tourbillon I'd made, so even that was a challenge. inches

It's enough to bring a smile to the face of even the most cynical collector.

The headliners from Sotheby's performed well, too, with Paul Newman's latest Daytonas both crossing $1 million all-in. Their fresh-to-market pink-on-pink Patek 1518 led the auction, selling regarding $3. 87 million. I mentioned this particular last month, however it's been great to see Sotheby's New York grow into a real force: its aggregate sales in New York will be more than $20 million, more than Sotheby's Geneva sold in its May auctions.

But auction headliners can often obscure a fact for the rest market: It's slowed in many places. At Christie's, for example , 26 of the 86 lots (30 percent) passed.