Schumacher auction: Eight watches and one bargain under the hammer
Published: Thursday, May 9th 2024, 05:50
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30 years after Michael Schumacher's first Formula 1 victory, his family is auctioning off eight rare watches from his collection in Geneva. Schumacher collected watches and owns rare pieces, some of which were made especially for him by the best watchmakers in the world. The auction will take place on Monday (13.5.) in Geneva.
It is difficult to say whether the celebrity effect is driving up the price of the watches, Remi Guillemin, a watch expert at Christie's auction house, told the German Press Agency. The estimated prices per piece - between 150,000 and 2 million francs - do not have a celebrity premium, he assures. "But no matter whose wrist the watch adorns, they will always remember that it belonged to Michael, one of the greatest racing drivers of all time," he says.
The auction is in Geneva, less than 40 kilometers from the family's home on Lake Geneva. Schumacher himself has not appeared in public since a serious skiing accident at the end of 2013. The family does not talk about how he is doing. "We have of course invited the family to the auction," says Guillemin. However, it is hardly expected that his wife Corinna or his children Gina-Maria or Mick, themselves racing drivers, will take their seats in the auction room of the posh Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues.
On offer is a model from the F.P. Journe manufacture with a dial in the Ferrari color red with symbols of its seven world championship titles. It was a Christmas present from the then Ferrari team boss Jean Todt. Estimated price: one to two million francs (just over two million euros). A second gift from Todt is less expensive: an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Chronograph. Estimated price: 150 to 250,000 Swiss francs. A rare Paul Newman Daytona watch from Rolex is estimated to cost at least 200,000 Swiss francs.
Theoretically, there is also a bargain on offer: a box for five F.P. Journe watches, which will be auctioned off individually. "We estimate their price at 5,000 francs," says Guillemin. However, the starting price for the bidding war will probably be significantly lower. However, he believes it is quite possible that collectors will want to bid for the entire set, and then the box as well. Anyone who has already put more than a million francs on the table for the watches is unlikely to be looking at the casket in terms of small change - so it could change hands for significantly more than the estimated price.
If the eight watches are sold at the upper end of their estimated price, the proceeds would be more than four million francs. If interested parties have deep pockets and compete with each other, it could be much more. It is not known what motivated the family to put the watches up for auction.
Not that there are any signs of financial hardship. Michael Schumacher was one of the best-paid sportsmen in the world. Forbes magazine estimated his income during his active career at a total of one billion dollars. It can be assumed that Schumacher invested it well: He was an advertising medium for a wealth consulting firm for many years. The family owns real estate in Switzerland, Mallorca and the USA, among other places.
The services of Christie's were not in vain, especially as the auction house sent the watches around the world and presented them to the public, for example in Taiwan and New York. How much this costs is, of course, subject to strict discretion, as Guillemin says.
Collectors all over the world were electrified when the auction was announced: "Many Europeans, including from Germany of course, and Americans, but also many interested parties from Asia and the Middle East are taking part," he says. The auction house also did a lot of advertising. The higher the price, the better the deal for Christie's: The buyer has to pay a premium to the auction house on the price at which the hammer falls. Depending on the price, this is between 20 and 26 percent.
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