Luxury timepieces belonging to seven-time Formula One world champion Michael Schumacher were sold for around CHF 4 million ($4.4 million), as reported by Reuters. Held at the prominent Christie’s auction in Geneva, the high-profile event was organized directly by the racing icon’s family. Collectors from across the Americas bid on the watches. The May 2024 sale was timed to coincide with the 30th anniversary of Schumacher's historic first Formula One Drivers' Championship victory back in 1994.
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The collection exhibited eight exceptionally rare, custom-built timepieces of renowned global watchmakers such as Rolex, F.P. Journe, and Audemars Piguet. Before hitting the auction, Christie’s gathered momentum for the highly anticipated collection with an international promotional tour, showcasing the timepieces in private gallery viewings in both New York and Taipei.
The pre-sale market estimates
The Vagabondage 1 model, a custom-made platinum timepiece from watchmaker, F.P. Journe was the standout piece out of the family collection. This unique watch was originally given to the German racing icon as a present for Christmas in 2004 by Jean Todt, his long-time team principal and former CEO at Ferrari. The custom design was defined by an 18-carat white gold framework and a vibrant red watch face along with an engraved emblem of Ferrari, Schumacher's iconic racing helmet, and a symbolic number "7" to honor his championship victories.
Landing squarely within its pre-sale estimate, the hammer price reached CHF 1.2 million, rose to CHF 1.497 million (that translates to $1.6 million). Also featured in the auction was a secondary customized watch, an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak chronograph, which was also a piece made for Schumacher from Todt. With the watch's trademark signature of Ferrari’s prancing horse on its dial, it ignited intense bidding, closing at a hammer price of CHF 330,000. It ultimately settled at CHF 415,800 with the buyer's commission. The result beat the pre-sale estimate of CHF 150,000 to 250,000.
Global bidding and broader context of the auction
According to the Remi Guillemin, what piqued the interest of international collectors was that these items bore historical provenance. While the Head of Watches for Europe and the Americas, didn’t divulge identify any of the individual buyers, he did confirm that a single collector purchased all five distinct watches offered in F.P. Journe's Ruthenium collection boxed set. Besides the custom racing memorabilia, the highest individual payout of the entire event was generated by a vintage pink gold Patek Philippe timepiece , which sold for a price of CHF 2.465 million ($2.71 million).
The high-end watch auction faced minor setbacks in the form of logistical complications, owing to which the live bidding process had to be delayed temporarily after the internal digital systems at Christie's suffered a cyber attack. However, the sale continued the following day as part of a broader seasonal auction of rare horological assets in Geneva.
Michael Schumacher officially stepped away from professional Formula One racing in 2012 with a resume of seven World Drivers' Championship titles, a record he shares with British driver Lewis Hamilton. A year later on 29 December 2013, the retired athlete fell while skiing off-piste at Méribel in the French Alps and suffered a near-fatal brain injury. Schumacher has since remained elusive to the public and as of 2024 continues to receive private medical care at his family home in Switzerland.
