Patrizzi & Co. NYC Auction Totals $4.2 Million
Patrizzi & Co. closed 2009 in New York City with an auction focused on collector-level timepieces offering just 93 lots. The sale generated $4,225,300, with Patek Philippe accounting for more than half the total value. Patrizzi & Co. finishes the year with sales over $34 million from eight auctions in New York, Geneva and Milan. A yellow gold Patek Philippe ref. 2499 Second Series brought the top price at $720,000. Other highlights from the evening include a very rare set of 4 Patek Philippe perpetual calendars, ref. 3970E, produced during the 1990s. The set includes one watch each in yellow, white and rose gold, and one in platinum. Custom dials with diamond indexes compliment each watch, and the original silver dials are also included. The set, which comes with a leather Patek Philippe case, brought $640,000.A yellow gold Patek ref. 2499/100 made and sold in 1990 accompanied by an extract from the archives sold for $320,000.You can view the complete results with images at the

Hands-On: The Jaquet Droz Grande Seconde Tourbillon Ivory Enamel (And What Is And Isn't A Tourbillon)
Since tourbillons have become much more common since the end of the 20th century – largely due to modern manufacturing and assembly techniques that make it easier to achieve the precision necessary for them to work properly – now more than ever, it's not so much a question of whether you can do it, but how well it's done. With that in mind, let's take a look at an unusual, and unusually designed, example of the tourbillon as a piece of wearable, high-craft, design: an objet d'art for the wrist from Jaquet Droz. 1 OF 9 As always, with tourbillons it's good to have some context for what you're looking at. In this case, we've got a tourbillon that's a little different from the usual run-of-the-mill tourbillon (to the extent that there is such a thing in the first place).  This is not the first self-winding tourbillon ever made, of course – that honor goes to Audemars Piguet, who created the still record-holding self-wind

Is 32500 a good price for a used ROO 44 rg?
Mint condition, but no box or papers. It's been a grail watch for a while now, and I have an opportunity to snag a 2015/16 ROO 44mm RG at 32500. I can also get a brand new, new dial version w/ box and papers for 38500. What do you guys think?

Which one should be purchased first in your opinion?
5131G or 5270G? Eventually I hope to have both, but i'm in a dilemma that which one I should go first.I know 5131G is on grey market for double it's retail, but still around 10% cheaper than the 5270G.What do you guys think?Thanks.Salih

Thinking about returning to Panerai...
I have had 2 Panerai watches in the past... a PAM 049 and a PAM 088. I sold both watches years ago, but I have always felt there was a void in my collection since they have been gone, a void that no other watch brand, really, can fill. I am therefore seriously considering re-entering the world of the Paneristi. I am deciding between the PAM 359 and the PAM 422. I LOVE the size of the 422, and the fact that it is hand wound with the power reserve on the case back, not the dial. I just wish it had a date window. The 359 is gorgeous, has the date window, but the size of the 422 is what is really pulling at my heart strings at this time. I have tried both on, and the 422 sings to me a bit more, so I believe that's the watch I will choose. I typically buy my watches new, at an AD. I have never bought a Panerai at a Panerai boutique. Question for you all: Would the Panerai boutique offer any discount on a new watch? Should I even bother asking? Planning on making the purchase very soon, with