Wilsons Auctions in the UK is somewhat different from other auction houses as they mainly handle the auctions of watches and other luxury items seized by law enforcement officials. In a recent upcoming auction by Wilsons Auctions, the main focus is on two prestigious watches from top brands such as Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet.
The British Wilsons Auctions is about to auction a stainless steel black dial Audemars Piguet Royal Oak 15500ST.
Let’s start with the second most remarkable lot, the classic Audemars Piguet Royal Oak automatic three-hand 15500ST. This is an out-of-production stainless steel model with a black dial. The key point is that it is in perfect brand-new condition. Not only are the box and papers complete, but the stickers on the inside of the bracelet have not been removed either, indicating that the previous owner has never worn it. The feature of Wilsons Auctions is that there is no reserve price. According to the data from the advanced watch market research institution WatchCharts, the current foreign secondary market quote for this watch is approximately 1.17 million). If one can win the bid at a price lower than this figure, it would be a cost-effective deal for the next owner.
The most anticipated focus of the same auction is the Patek Philippe green dial Nautilus 5711 diamond-set model, which will be the first time to be open for bidding without a reserve price.
As for the most anticipated focus of this auction, it is the rarely seen Patek Philippe Nautilus 5711/1300A, that is, the green dial Nautilus 5711 diamond-set model. Since its limited release in 2021, including this time, it is only the third time that the same model has been auctioned. Moreover, the previous two auctions had reserve prices. However, even though the watch is highly renowned and has a strong market, when it comes to Wilsons Auctions, it is all sold without a reserve price. The news has excited many collectors.
The Nautilus 5711/1300A was auctioned just once in June 2024, and the winning bid at that time was $492,000. However, since Wilsons Auctions has no reserve price for the bidding, whether the winning bid can approach or exceed this figure remains to be seen.
The bezel of the Nautilus 5711/1300A is set with 32 rectangular-cut diamonds. Although the premium degree is not as exaggerated as the non-diamond-set model 5711/1A-014, there is a price gap between the two models. The production of the diamond-set version is definitely rarer. Therefore, as long as it appears at the auction, it will definitely trigger a bidding war. In fact, a similar model was just sold in June 2024 at the Important Watches auction held by Sotheby’s in New York – the seller was the renowned Hollywood action superstar Sylvester Stallone. The final transaction price of that green dial Nautilus 5711 diamond-set model was 15.72 million). As a reference for this time, as long as the winning bid for the no-reserve-price Nautilus 5711/1300A is lower than this figure, the winner will feel it’s a bargain. Wilsons Auctions stated that this watch will also come with the original box and papers, so the condition of the watch is quite complete.
Wilsons Auctions did not disclose much about this green dial Nautilus 5711 diamond-set model, only saying that it was an item seized by the police. Other more detailed parts are unknown. However, since it is a government-seized item, at least it can be guaranteed that the source is obtained through legal channels, eliminating the worry of winning a watch of unknown origin and subsequent problems.
The government-confiscated green dial Nautilus 5711 diamond-set model comes with the box and papers, and the overall condition is quite complete.
After the auction is concluded, all the winning bid proceeds will not go into any private pockets but will be attributed to the government as funds for public services and community activities. Michael Streight, the government sales coordinator of Wilsons Auctions, pointed out that the proceeds from this auction will all be submitted to the national treasury. In recent years, the auctions of confiscated items held by this auction house have accumulated and realized as much as £150 million. After the auctions of these prestigious watches such as the green dial Nautilus 5711 diamond-set model and the Royal Oak 15500ST, along with other luxury items, this public fund is expected to increase further.
This auction not only has no reserve price threshold, and the price paid will ultimately be used by the government for public construction. It seems to be a win-win deal. We will track the final selling prices of the two watches after the auction is over.
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