The three major watch auction houses, Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Phillips, together sold $626 million worth of AAA UK replica watches in 2022. Phillips took the lead, with year-end sales of $227 million, followed by Christie’s at $220 million, and Sotheby’s watch sales totaled $179 million. The following tally of the top 20 lots shows Patek Philippe and Rolex continue to rein as the highest-priced brands, but this year, Richard Mille, F.P. Journe, George Daniels and Audemars Piguet take their place among the top 20, a trend that reflects the greater importance of pieces made by independent watchmakers at auction.
Here are the top fake watches sold at auction in 2022.
Gobbi Milano-Signed Patek Philippe Ref. 2499 Replica Watches ($7,724,346)
The top lot of the year, sold by Sotheby’s in Hong Kong last spring was high quality copy Patek Philippe Ref. 2499 watches, a pink gold version of Patek’s famous perpetual calendar chronograph. It was made in 1957 and double-signed by the retailer Gobbi Milano. It is one of nine pink gold second-series 2499s made, and the only one that’s known to have the Gobbi signature. It last sold in 2007 for $2.7 million, a record at the time.
Rolex “Paul Newman” Daytona Fake Watches ($3,421,169)
The top lot in Christie’s Rare Watches sale this fall was cheap replica Rolex Paul Newman Daytona watches in 18-karat yellow gold with an “Oyster Lemon” dial. The watch, Ref. 6263, is the earliest of only three known examples of a Paul Newman-style dial in this color.
Replica Patek Philippe “Pink-on-Pink” Ref. 1518 Watches ($3,333,926)
This rare pink-on-pink perfect fake Patek Philippe Ref. 1518 perpetual calendar chronograph watches sold at Phillips in Geneva in the spring. The pink gold, pink-dialed watch is a first-series edition, of which only 281 were made, and maybe six with this particular dial.
Fake Rolex “El Limoncito” “Paul Newman” Daytona Ref. 6264 Watches ($2,087,000)
Phillips sold this Ref. 6264 Rolex Paul Newman Daytona replica watches for sale with a lemon dial and gold case in the spring. It’s almost identical to a Ref. 6263 sold later by ‘’s (see number 4): Both were made in 1969. This lot was nicknamed “El Limoncito” as an homage to the Mexican origins of the family who owned the luxury Swiss super clone watches since its production.
