Two watches from Michael Schumacher’s private collection achieved a combined total of 3,072,000 Swiss francs, over 3.3 million euros, at Christie’s ‘Rare Watches’ auction in Geneva. The Tourbillon Souverain and Chronomètre à Résonance, both signed F.P. Journe, were each sold for 1,536,000 Swiss francs, around 1.68 million euros per piece: the highest results among the five Ruthenium series pieces owned by the seven-time Formula 1 world champion and offered in the sale.
The auction took place on Monday, November 9 at the Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues, in the year marking the thirtieth anniversary of the German driver’s connection with Scuderia Ferrari. All five F.P. Journe watches from his collection were numbered 92/99 and were offered individually, each accompanied by its original box. Highly sought after by collectors, the Ruthenium series is distinguished by brass movements and dials coated with ruthenium.
Schumacher’s watches contributed to the sale’s record result: 47,824,592 Swiss francs, equivalent to about 52.2 million euros. The total exceeded last year’s by 221% and reached 250% of the minimum estimate. All 44 lots found a buyer at the end of a session lasting over eight hours.
Collectors from 66 countries participated in the sale. Nineteen percent of participants were experiencing Christie’s for the first time, while 40% of registered bidders belonged to the Millennial and Gen Z generations. Rémi Guillemin, global head of the Watches department at the auction house, commented: “These exceptional results reflect the breadth and vitality of the rare watch market, with particularly strong demand for independent makers.”
Comparison with the 2024 sale
This is not the first time Christie’s has brought Schumacher’s watches to Geneva. In May 2024, the auction house sold eight of them for just under 4 million Swiss francs. On that occasion, another set of five F.P. Journe Ruthenium watches, offered separately, totaled 1.70 million Swiss francs: all five were purchased by a single buyer.
Two years later, the proceeds from just the Tourbillon Souverain and Chronomètre à Résonance from the new group have thus surpassed those obtained from the entire previous set of five Ruthenium pieces.
The Vagabondage Trilogy and the Charity Sale
Among other results at ‘Rare Watches’, the F.P. Journe Vagabondage I, II, and III trilogy in rose gold was acquired by a single collector for 6,709,200 Swiss francs, about 7.32 million euros. The Patek Philippe reference 1518 reached 1,075,200 Swiss francs, while the Nautilus Khanjar, made in 1978 for the Sultan of Oman, was sold for 1,024,000 Swiss francs.
The charity section Watches for Ela, in which Zinedine Zidane participated, raised 501,400 Swiss francs in support of Ela International.
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