With a decade of experience in the Christie’s Geneva, New York, Hong Kong and Dubai watch departments since 2013, Remi Guillemin has acquired a unique understanding of the watch market. Responsible for key transactions in both auctions and privates sales, he has been able to leverage his international profile to bring collectors together and successfully sell properties internationally. Through his understanding of market trends and collectors, Remi has energized the department and led highly successful watch auctions, with the first ever white glove sale (100% sold by lot) of Christie’s Geneva in November 2021, followed by the same success in December 2021, May and November 2022 as well as May 2023. Throughout the years, Remi has lead successful auctions in Geneva and New York, notably the “Legendary and Unique Watches” sale in November 2022 selling 100% by lot and achieving 31,877,418 CHF with only 111 lots and the first ever live auction celebrating an independent watchmaker “The Art of F.P. Journe” selling 100% by lot in May 2023.
Throughout the years, Remi has been credited with the sale of beautiful iconic Rolex timepieces, including the Rolex “Legend” reference 6263 with Paul Newman Lemon dial for 3’414’000 CHF, the Deep Sea Special No.1 selling for 1’890’000 CHF, an incredible Rolex reference 6269 selling for 1’614’000 CHF or Andy Warhol’s reference 3525. Remi Guillemin has also been credited with the sale of superb Patek Philippe timepieces, with the example of the Ref. 5711/1A-018 for 3’174’000 CHF or the Patek Philippe reference 2523 “L’heure d’Or” selling for 2’670’000 CHF. Highly passionate, Remi Guillemin has been responsible for the sale of milestone wristwatches from independent watchmakers, including the “Jean Todt” RM56-01 in sapphire for 3,654,000 CHF, Richard Mille’s RM001 for 2’094’000 CHF or a unique F.P. Journe Grande Sonnerie with blue dial selling for 3’054’000 CHF and a unique and personalized F.P. Journe Centigraphe Souverain with Ferrari emblem sold for 1’974’000 CHF. Remi is fluent in French, English and Italian.
After moving to New York from London, Mrs. Ross achieved a Master’s degree at Christie’s Education. She quickly realized her love of art expanded as she discovered the same characteristics, and magic, in watches. Having been exposed to the artistry of clocks and watches from an early age through her father’s collection, she now travels worldwide to find the rarest timepieces to add to various Christie’s auctions throughout the year, and in addition, manages client wishlists on a Private Sale basis.
She is proud to be part of such an immensely talented team at Christie’s and enjoys building a depth of expertise with her team that results in continued outstanding collections and sales. Notably, she has been responsible for offering some of the most recognized timepieces in New York auction history: The Rolex “Dark Star,” reference 6062, and a historically important Cartier Tank, Belonging to Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in 1962. Most recently, her Important Watches live auction in June 2022 totaled over $21,000,000, setting a new record for the highest total ever for a watches auction at Christie’s New York.
Enamored after discovering the world of mechanical timepieces at the age of fifteen years old, Henry Ishikawa has spent the past decade researching, collecting, and writing about watches. He quickly turned his passion into a career, cataloging and assisting with selling many of the most important wristwatches and horological devices to surface to the market.
Prior to Christie’s, Mr. Ishikawa spent the past four years at various watch marketplaces authenticating and evaluating timepieces of all kinds.
Keen to both vintage and contemporary watches alike, Henry Ishikawa has grown especially fond of what is now dubbed “neo-vintage” watches. Staying up with market trends, Mr. Ishikawa enjoys chatting with enthusiasts from all stages alike and hopes to continue helping collectors grow their collections and discover new brands.
Based in Hong Kong, Alexandre Bigler is Senior Vice President and Head of Watches at Christie’s Asia Pacific. He has almost 20 years of experience in the watch collecting industry, working as a leading auction specialist in Geneva, London, and Hong Kong, and as a consultant for the Southeast Asian watches market while based in Bangkok.
Alexandre has achieved numerous recording-breaking results at Christie’s for rare and outstanding timepieces, most recently for the Patek Philippe ref. 2523J ‘Dual Crown World Time’, which sold for US$8.5 million in Hong Kong in May 2023, and the ‘Sky Moon Tourbillon’, Ref. 6002G-001, which sold for US$5.8 million in March 2023 and became the most valuable timepiece ever sold online globally. Under Alexandre’s leadership, the Watches Department in Hong Kong achieved an auction total of US$60 million in the first half of 2023, marking the highest first half sale total for the category at Christie’s Asia.
In addition, Alexandre has been instrumental in consigning some of the world’s most prestigious private collections, including ‘The Champion Collection’ – one of the greatest assemblages of complicated and desirable contemporary wristwatches, which totalled over US$40 million; ‘The Triazza Collection’ of important Patek Philippe timepieces, which was 100% sold; ‘The Ultimate Collection’ – featuring modern and golden age timepieces from Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, Rolex, and Lange & Söhne; and the ‘The Titanium and Ruby Collection’ – the most valuable single-owner collection of Patek Philippe timepieces ever offered at auction in Asia at the time.
Alexandre was born in Switzerland and is fluent in French and English.
Based in Hong Kong, Jill Chen is Vice President and Deputy Head of Watches at Christie’s Asia Pacific. Jill brings with her a remarkable background in the watch industry, having started her career at Antiquorum before joining Phillips as the first employee of their Hong Kong office. Her role involved developing the watch business in Asia, and she played a pivotal part in establishing a strong presence in the Asian watch market through thematic auctions. Numerous world records were achieved during her tenure, including the successful sale of two vintage Patek Philippe wristwatches, which garnered over US$ 8 million in total (Reference 130 in stainless steel and Reference 1463 in stainless steel) during the debut auction year of 2015.
Additionally, Jill excelled in cultivating VIP relationships, overseeing private sales and transactions, providing expert collecting advice, offering valuation services, and managing the family timepiece collections. Her dedication to provide personalized client experience and comprehensive watch-related services further enhanced her contributions in the watch industry.
Jill was born and raised in Taiwan, and holds a Bachelor degree of Japanese language and culture from Fu Jen Catholic University. She is fluent in Mandarin and English.
Cissy Ngan joined Christie’s Watch department as an Associate Specialist in September 2014, and she was promoted to Specialist in 2017. Prior to joining Christie’s, Cissy worked as the Business Manager for Asia at an international auction house specializing in watches, and then as the Hong Kong director of a large Swiss watch importer. With more than 15 years’ experience in all aspects of the watch business, Cissy has acquired an excellent knowledge of timepieces and built extensive relationships with watch collectors across Asia.
After obtaining a Bachelor Degree in Economics and Geography from The University of Hong Kong, Harmmond had been running a family business in used luxury watches for more than 7 years with his father, one of the most experienced and leading watchmakers in Hong Kong. Harmmond is very passionate about watches and has extensive knowledge in vintage watches especially Rolex. He joined Christie’s as an Associate Specialist in 2017 after a short career in an international bank. In 2022, Christie's successfully secured one of the most valuable and important watch collections, “The Champion Collection”. With his great contribution in winning this splendid consignment as well as his professionalism in the industry, Harmmond was promoted as a Specialist in the same year.
Rémy Julia was appointed as Christie’s Dubai’s regional specialist for watches in the summer of 2014. He comes to Christie’s with more than 10 years of experience working with luxury brands in brand management and business development roles. Heading the Commercial Development in the Middle East and Indian Sub Continent of Vacheron Constantin since 2009, Remy has joined the auction world with a strong knowledge and reputable name in the fine watchmaking industry.
Over the years at Christie’s, he has participated in mentoring some of the strongest watch specialist at Christie’s and established a multicultural team that constitutes the power of the Dubai watches hub along with Bob Xue and Nitin Nair.
Leading the region’s largest auctions of collectible watches, he has ensured a constant and solid growth from the first auction in October 2014 with 1,2M USD to an impressive level setting a new benchmark for online auctions globally with blockbuster sales in March 2021 ($15 million), October 2021 ($10,5 million) and March 2022 ($12 million), Watches Online: The Dubai Edit returns every six months.
The Dubai Watches hub is also leading the private sale with transactions over $30 million in 2022, which is explained by the desire to transact quicker and anonymously for the important collectors on the post pandemic era.
Strong results comes with memorable watches to his ranking such as the Emperor Haile Selassie Patek Philippe Ref. 2497 sold for 2,9 million USD, the King Farouk Patek Philippe Ref 1518J sold for 912,500 USD, and the historically important Patek Philippe minute repeater of Henry Graves Jr sold for 4,575,000 USD.
Rémy is a columnist for various publications among them WatchTime Middle East and India or QP magazine. He is a well-known watch advisor at Christie’s watch department both on the purchase and consignment side, ensuring success of Christie’s watches auctions around the world.
Rémy speaks French, Spanish, English and some Arabic. He has travelled extensively since a young age and has a deep knowledge of the Middle Eastern culture due to his long residency in the region.
His advisory & curation services are appreciated and acknowledged by some of the largest global collectors and his presence in each international auctions makes him a strong contact for every watch enthusiasts and established collectors willing to participate in an auction.
Remy has a particular affection for vintage Patek Philippe chronographs and time only timepieces from 1940 to 1970 and is a member of the board of Dubai Watch Week.
In just a matter of five years, Bob Xue has established himself as trusted watch specialist in the global Christie’s team.
Bob’s background prior to his watch career is a success story starting from hospitality at The Jumeirah Group -Burj Al Arab-, from where he moved to become a top performing luxury fashion front liner for Giorgio Armani.
He then moved to Vacheron Constantin, where he spent four years developing the retail business for the brand in Dubai, prior to his move to the auction world.
As the only Mainland Chinese national in the Christie’s Watch Department, Bob has cultivated a well-oiled network of clients and traders building a bridge between the Middle East and China. He is also Yop individual performance in private sales in H1 2022 so far.
Bob has in recent years focused on the market of vintage Patek ,Richard Mille and gold Rolex Daytona ‘Paul Newman’ chronographs and has curated several watch collections.
Bob is a UAE resident for over 17 years, well blended into the middle eastern culture, he has a soft spot for vintage Rolex Day-Date Stella dial and hopes to build a formidable collection for himself one day.
Nitin Nair’s move to Christie’s this year comes on the back of his successful tenure as the launch editor of WatchTime Middle East, the region’s leading watch publication. He spent seven years focused on the niche of luxury watches, creating and curating content as well as organising events for the local collecting community. He was on the jury of WatchStars, an independent international watch awards featuring an international community of watch journalists and has been quoted as a thought leader in international titles like The New York Times.
His background as a journalist with more than 18 years of experience across news and men’s luxury lifestyle titles gives him a clear and balanced view of the luxury and collectibles industry. Nitin’s interest in wristwatches is more rooted in academia and horology, given his love for history and literature. He reckons watches and horology sit at the intersection of art, micro-engineering, and history. He has visited manufactures in Switzerland, Germany, and Japan over the years and has covered the auction scene in the Middle over the last seven years. He has consulted with retail brands about engaging with the community and is considered a tastemaker among his peers.
Charmie Hamami was appointed as Christie’s Deputy Chairman, Southeast Asia in June 2016. Ms. Hamami is responsible for all business and client development and the further strengthening of Christie’s presence and brand in the region, one of the fastest growing in Asia.
In her role, Ms. Hamami is responsible for developing and nurturing client relations in Southeast Asia and providing local clients with easy access to not only Christie’s specialists and sales, but to the international art market. Ms. Hamami works closely with the firm’s top clients, advising on all aspects of both buying and consigning in Christie’s auctions around the world. She works closely with Christie’s international senior specialists in all major sale categories and also serves as the liaison for Christie’s institutional relationships in Indonesia.
Ms. Hamami first joined Christie’s in 1999 where she worked in Client Services department, before taking up her current role. Ms. Hamami holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Interior Architecture, and is certified in Diamond Essential from Gemological Institute of America. She is proficient in English, Bahasa Malaysia, Bahasa Indonesia and Japanese.
Sonal joined Christie’s Modern and Contemporary Indian department in 2007, bringing over ten years of work experience in the art industry. Based in Mumbai, she travels frequently, having formed close relationships with members of the art community in India and Pakistan. She often contributes articles on Indian art to national magazines and newspapers and is frequently invited to give lectures. She also works closely with the Asian Contemporary Art department in Hong Kong to create a wider awareness of South Asian art in the region. Prior to Christie’s, Sonal was a Director of Bodhi Art. She worked closely with many of India’s leading artists including: Atul Dodiya, Anju Dodiya, Subodh Gupta and N.S. Harsha amongst others. She holds a Master’s degree with distinction in Art Business from Sotheby’s Institute of Art, London, where she specialised in the Indian art market. Sonal has also studied design at Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design, London; and Modern and Contemporary art history at Christie’s Education, London.
