People: Schumacher auction: eight watches and a bargain

30 years after Michael Schumacher’s first Formula 1 victory, eight watches from his possession are being auctioned in Geneva. The racing driver 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 next Monday in Geneva.

Schumacher’s watch collection is significantly larger, Christie’s watch specialist Alexandre Gouverneyre told the German Press Agency on Thursday in Geneva. “The family thinks these pieces are better off in collections.”

Others, which Schumacher often wore and which therefore have personal memories for the family, remained in the family’s possession. The watches in the auction are in top condition. Some may have tiny signs of wear, but that probably only increases the value, Gouverneyre said. It stimulates the imagination: a small scratch that probably happened on Michael Schumacher’s wrist.

Ferrari watch and a bargain

It’s difficult to say whether the celebrity effect is driving up the price of the watches, said Remi Guillemin, who is responsible for estimating the price of watches at Christie’s, to the dpa. He assures us that no celebrity surcharge was charged for the estimated prices – between 150,000 and 2 million francs per piece – (up to a good two million euros). “But no matter whose wrist the watch graces, 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 doesn’t talk about how he’s doing.

On offer is a model from the FP Journe manufacturer with a dial in the Ferrari color red with symbols of his seven world championship titles. It was a Christmas present from then Ferrari team boss Jean Todt. Estimated price: one to two million francs. A second gift from Todt is more affordable: an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Chronograph. Estimated price: 150 to 250,000 francs. A rare Paul Newman Daytona watch from Rolex is estimated at at least 200,000 francs.

Collectors want to buy the entire set at auction

Theoretically, there is also a bargain on offer: a box for five FPJourne watches, which are auctioned off individually. “We estimate its price at 5,000 francs,” says Guillemin. But he assumes that collectors want to buy the entire set, and then the box as well. Anyone who has already put down a six or seven-figure sum for the watches is unlikely to look at the change in the box – 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, there could be more.

It is not known what motivated the family to have the watches auctioned. Not that there are any signs of financial problems. Michael Schumacher was one of the highest paid athletes in the world. Forbes magazine estimated his income during his active time at a total of one billion dollars. It can be assumed that Schumacher invested it well: he was an advertising agent for an investment consulting firm for years. The family has properties in Switzerland, Mallorca and the USA, among other places.

Collectors all over the world were electrified when the auction was announced: “Many Europeans, of course also from Germany, and Americans, but also many interested parties from Asia and the Middle East are there,” 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, it is between 20 and 26 percent.