LONDON — Christie’s has named Remi Guillemin global head of watches, based in Geneva. He will lead the watch business across auction and private sales, and work closely with collectors and clients, the company said.
“There is no better choice for this important role than Remi Guillemin, whose expertise, focus on smart curation and client relationships has already grown our market and led to landmark success,” said Kimberly Miller, Christie’s global managing director of luxury.
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Prior to becoming global head of watches, Guillemin served as the company’s head of watches for the Americas and Europe, the Middle East and Africa, where he led his teams through a period of “significant growth and a succession of landmark sales.”
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In 2022, Guillemin spearheaded the Legendary and Unique Watches sale, which offered 111 timepieces from a single private collector. It sold 100 percent by lot, with highlights including a custom-made F.P. Journe, with a Ferrari red dial and shield bearing the initials J.T.
Two years later, he oversaw a sale of several custom-made watches belonging to former F1 champ Michael Schumacher. Earlier in his career at Christie’s he conducted the first stand-alone auction dedicated to an independent watchmaker, F.P. Journe.
Christie’s said under Guillemin’s leadership, the U.S. watch division achieved significant growth, including events with 100 percent sell-through rates and a record for the most expensive timepiece ever sold by Christie’s New York, a Richard Mille RM 56-02 at more than $3 million.
The company added that the continued development of the U.S. “remains a key strategic priority for watches as the international team seeks to expand Christie’s presence further.”
Christie’s said its watch business “continues to demonstrate exceptional global momentum.”
In the first half of 2026, worldwide watch sales increased by 39 percent year-over-year, underscoring the strength of the market and the continued demand for rare and exceptional timepieces.
In Geneva in May the Rare Watches Auction achieved $42.2 million, delivering the highest result for any various-owner watch auction in the history of Christie’s. “It also established major benchmarks including the highest price ever achieved at auction for a vintage Audemars Piguet,” at more than $2.6 million, and the highest price ever paid for any Cartier wristwatch, exceeding $2 million.
The company said momentum has been equally strong in Asia. The May 2026 Important Watches auction in Hong Kong, featuring the Kronos: Titans of Time; The Eternity, and The Chronicle Collections, realized $35.7 million, representing an increase of 40 percent year-over-year.
As reported earlier this week, the secondhand watch market has begun to bounce back, albeit slowly.
After a two-year rough patch, data suggests the worst is over. Market research platform WatchCharts’ broad secondary-market index was up 9.8 percent year-over-year, and 3.5 percent over six months as of mid-August, with even the latest figures still in positive territory.
According to its second-quarter report, done in collaboration with Morgan Stanley and published in mid-July, prices for pre-owned pieces have risen 1.5 percent quarter-over-quarter for the fourth consecutive time.
The report said that Compagnie Financière Richemont, Swatch Group and LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton all recorded “a sequential uptick in secondhand prices.”