Hong Kong has its tides: those of the ferries crossing Victoria Harbour, and those of the sales that, throughout the year, draw collectors and connoisseurs to Admiralty. This autumn, Green Auctioneers adds one more date to the calendar. Based in the Central–Admiralty district, the house founded in 2022 by Marc Djunbushian inaugurates its Luxury Week: five days of programming, with the outcome decided in two sessions on 8 and 9 October.
The principle borrows from the tradition of French auction houses: a tight selection, objects presented in their original configuration, impeccable condition. Both sales are broadcast live on green-auctioneers.com, drouot.com and Invaluable.com, so they can be followed from Paris as easily as from Geneva.
8 October: Handbags and Jewelry, a Salon of Major Names
The first session, Luxury Handbags & Jewelry, brings together sixty-five pieces chosen by Hayley Wong, Fashion and Jewelry specialist at Green Auctioneers. Hermès takes the leading role with Birkin, Kelly, Constance and Lindy bags, surrounded by creations from Chanel, Christian Dior, Louis Vuitton and Bottega Veneta.
The Birkin 30 in orange Niloticus crocodile, with palladium hardware, leads the parade. This shade, one of the house's chromatic signatures, finds an echo in a Birkin 25 in ostrich of the same color, of great rarity. A Kelly HSS completes the trio: a special order made for one of the house's major clients. At Chanel, the 2.55 comes in black or red, while the Boy is offered in Fluo or Chevron versions.
La joaillerie occupe l’autre versant de la vacation. Van Cleef & Arpels y signe une paire de clips en or jaune, modèle « Épis », réalisée dans les années 1960, signée et numérotée. Plus près de nous, des pendants d’oreilles en or, saphirs et diamants portent la signature de Chaumet. Joaillier de l’impératrice Joséphine, fournisseur de la cour impériale sous Napoléon Ier. La maison jouit en Asie d’une audience particulière : de quoi réserver une surprise au moment de l’adjudication.
9 October: Collectors' Watches Under the Hammer
The next day, sixty-six watches and timepieces go under the hammer of Marc Djunbushian for the Fine Watches & Clockssession. A specialist in pocket watches and grand complications, he has built his reputation on timepieces of royal, imperial or princely provenance. This sale bears the mark of that expertise: several pieces were made for King Farouk, King Fuad of Egypt or the Shah of Iran.
Rolex King Midas: architecture on the wrist. Designed by Gérald Genta, the yellow gold reference 4315 has something of sculpture about it: an asymmetrical case, an integrated bracelet, a winding crown moved to the left. The model would later join the Cellini collection, devoted to the Geneva manufacture's dress watches. The example on offer, consigned in South America, has remained in the family of its first owner since purchase and is in New Old Stock condition, as though it had just left the workshop. Long kept out of the spotlight, this watch from the 1970s has drawn renewed attention from enthusiasts in recent seasons.
Patek Philippe 5020: the sale's grand complication. This rose gold perpetual calendar chronograph wristwatch, circa 2003, is the only perpetual calendar chronograph from the manufacture with a TV Screen case. It was produced for just eight years, which explains its singular place in the catalog. Vacheron Constantin, Breguet and Jürgensen keep it company, along with table clocks by Cartier and Jaeger-LeCoultre.
Piaget and Georges Lenfant: the watch as jewel. Women's watchmaking is one of the house's specialties, and Piaget offers a vivid demonstration. A textured yellow gold cuff watch and a twisted gold sautoir watch, worn on a long chain, both circa 1971 and fitted with lapis lazuli dials, recall the daring of the 1970s, when Geneva workshops treated the watch as a jewel. They are joined by Rolex and Hermès pieces stamped with the hallmark of Georges Lenfant, a Parisian jeweler much sought after today, as well as models by Chopard, Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels and Bulgari.
A Bridge Between Paris and Asia
Green Auctioneers holds twelve sales a year and offers a private sales service. By bringing handbags, jewelry and watches together in a single week, the house gives Hong Kong a format familiar to regulars of Drouot, close to an Asian clientele attentive to major French and Swiss names.
