SPOTLIGHT: Remi Guillemin of Christie’s on bidding to be the best

Recently promoted to Global Head of Watches at auction house Christie’s, Remi Guillemin has spearheaded several major high-end watch auctions, including the 2022 ‘Legendary and Unique Watches’ private collection sale, a private collection of custom watches belonging to Michael Schumacher, and driving a US record for a timepiece sold in New York. Guillemin has seen it all, both internationally tracking changes in consumer habits among collectors, and internally having been at Christie’s for over a decade. He spoke with Watch Insider’s Daniel Malins about how 2026 looks in the auction world compared with years gone by.

Daniel Malins: How has the first half of the year gone for you, both financially and in terms of what trends you have picked up on? 

Remi Guillemin: In 2021-2023 everyone was talking about how hot the market was and how wristwatches that were still being produced and sold by watchmakers were selling at multiples of retail price. As a result, you had a lot of people that were viewing watches as a short-term investment that were purchasing and reselling at high volumes.

Today, the market is extremely healthy. We are doing numbers that are extremely similar to the levels that we saw in those years, as far as revenue goes. But the big difference is that collectors who are buying are either historical collectors or young collectors that are coming into the market with a lot of knowledge and a lot of passion.

As a result, the watches that we have seen perform tremendously well at auction are independent watchmakers. There’s no more trickery about perceived rarity versus production numbers that are maybe higher than what people think. People are actually doing their homework at a high level, which is really great. People have moved from collecting brands and entire catalogues and listings to collecting models that they believe are truly great, or trying to discover watchmakers that are providing a lot of quality for great value.

DM: It’s hard to believe that there isn’t still an element of herd mentality though. I appreciate what you’re saying about how well-informed collectors are nowadays, but they’re ultimately still making irrational purchases from the heart.

RG: Specific brands like Patek, Rolex, and iconic watchmakers like George Daniels and Breguet have been here forever. New collectors are going towards collecting the icons of these brands, which is really great.

I think the herd mentality is due to multiple factors. For example, collectors today are highly connected and have a real feeling of community. The arrival of a new generation who are tech-savvy means the watch community is more and more knowledgeable about the timepieces of the past. Retailers, brands, and manufacturers are more invested in the secondary market as well by providing transparency and information, so that collectors are able to buy with knowledge rather than based on interpretation or their own studies.

Some of the independent watchmakers are still fairly new, so they would still remember the first watches that they made with great precision and with archives being up to date. This also helps tremendously when you’re talking to a collector who wants to be reassured and understand what he’s purchasing.

DM: To pick up on the community element of watch collecting, in the case of independents it feels quite special for a collector to meet with the person behind the brand, which they wouldn’t be able to do at Patek or Vacheron or Rolex. As an auction house, to what extent can you tap into that?

RG: In 2023, we did the Art of F.P. Journe auction, which was focused solely on F.P. Journe as a watchmaker. We collaborated from start to finish with the brand when it came to researching and producing a catalogue that was aesthetically in line with what the brand was doing. Before the auction, we had an event at F.P. Journe in Geneva, and François-Paul Journe came to the auction itself. 

In May, we had one of the top lots of the season, an Audemars Piguet Monopusher Chronograph in Platinum, which is the most expensive Audemars Piguet wristwatch ever sold at auction. When we consigned it from the original family in the US, we knew we had something special, and we collaborated with Audemars Piguet to research it and promote it. They received us at Le Brassus in the museum and we were able to make a beautiful video with Sebastian Vivas. This is the kind of content and proximity that collectors really enjoy. 

DM: If you look at the last 20 years or so, how much do you think auction houses have changed, from that sense of community to the internet and the rise of online marketplaces? 

RG: In the past six years maybe, the auction world has become increasingly competitive and the secondary watch market as a whole has attracted a lot more attention than it had in the past. As a result, there are more actors in the secondary watch market, but there are also more clients. The fact that brands like Rolex are developing a Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) program validates the value of watches in the secondary market. The fact that Patek Philippe provides extracts from the archives, and the fact that François-Paul Journe has a heritage department, all bring great dynamism to the watch market and more customers as well.

The fundamentals of what makes a good actor in the secondary market are even more important today than they were in the past. We’re innovating a lot by offering fresh content to our customers, making sure that we’re finding the rarest pieces in different regions, and offering quality expertise to our collectors so that they can understand the value of the pieces that we’re offering. 

When I started at Christie’s in 2013, a quality watch auction was around $15 million in Geneva. In May, we ended up with sales of $42 million. Although we are in a more competitive landscape, it shows you that competition is nothing to be afraid of. It’s actually something to be thankful for when it comes to all the attention that is now on the secondary market.

Watch Insider: What’s your take on the Rolex CPO program, which you mentioned earlier? It gives enormous legitimacy to the concept of pre-owned, but on the other hand it may have diverted sales away from you.

RG: For me, it’s really all positive in the sense that you had customers who were afraid of buying from the secondary market, and it opens up an entire world to them. They grow more confident in the idea of acquiring from main actors of the secondary market.

Secondary market prices rise or decrease for specific references, so it’s all very dynamic. The price at auction evidences demand on the day.

DM: When it comes to getting the best price at auction, brand name plays a big part, along with the model, the provenance, the condition, its treatment, whether it’s polished or unpolished, etc. Out of those various elements, which are the most important for you?

RG: First and foremost, it’s the importance of the wristwatch in the market overall. The value-creating factors for wristwatches in the secondary market start with condition, so making sure that the model that you’re looking for is preserved in the best condition possible. And also the rarity. Customers are more and more knowledgeable and understand that buying a rare watch will give tremendous value to the model that they’re looking for.

Provenance of course has a tremendous impact. We’ve been fortunate to sell wristwatches recently that have belonged to Michael Schumacher, Jean Todt, and many more, so this has always attracted the eye of discerning collectors. And of course, brand reputation for the wider part has a great impact on the industry and collectors.