Prominent watch specialist and authority, Sam Hines, has been named International Head of Watches for Phillips auction house.
The international auction house recently established its watch department with Aurel Bacs and Livia Russo as its senior consultants. Phillips held its first watch auction since the early 2000s in May and reportedly doubled the total amount taken in by its closest rival during the week of horological auctions in Geneva.
While the watch department is based in Geneva, Hines will be heading Phillips’ global watch team from its recently opened Asian Headquarters in the Landmark Building in Hong Kong. The auction house also has watch specialists in London and New York.
Hines will work with Phillips’ watch team on the contents of the auctions in the fall season, including the November 8 sale in Geneva and the auction house’s inaugural Hong Kong sale on December 1.
With 20 years experience in the auction world, Hines has held executive positions in New York and in Asia since 2008, spearheading many ground-breaking sales of important watches. In 2013 he was appointed International co-head of Christie’s watches department. Hines worked under Bacs at Christie’s.
Highlights from Hines’ career include the discovery and sale of two previously unknown pocket watches from the third generation of James Ward Packard, achieving $2.7 million at auction in 2011, as well as curating the sale of Asia’s most expensive horological object; a pair of Singing Bird Pistols that sold for $5.8 million. He is also responsible for numerous auction records, including the sale of the only known Patek Philippe Star Caliber 2000 for $3.5 million, a Rolex cloisonné enamel wristwatch for $1 million and two sets of the Patek Philippe reference 5004 for $3.75 million.
“Sam has pushed the boundaries of watch collecting, expanding the awareness of the watch market to a vast network of established and emerging collectors. He has built his career on forming long term relationships with many of the world's watch collecting elite,” said Edward Dolman, chairman and CEO, Phillips.
“I proudly welcome my dear friend, Sam Hines. Sam has, without a doubt, the trust of the world’s key collectors and trade thanks to his unrivalled expertise, honesty, transparency and integrity. He is an important advisor to elite collectors, especially in Asia,” added Aurel Bacs, senior consultant, Bacs & Russo.
Hines was born in London and lives in Hong Kong with his wife and two daughters. He studied political science at New York University.
With Hines’ appointment, Phillip’s International Team of Watch Specialists now consists of:
Aurel Bacs and Livia Russo, senior consultants, Geneva
Nathalie Monbaron, business development Director, Geneva
Virginie Liatard-Roessli, department manager,Geneva
Paul Maudsley, international specialist, director of the London Watches Department, London
Kate Lacey, specialist, London
Paul Boutros, consultant and international strategy adviser, New York
Leigh Zagoory, cataloguer and junior specialist, New York
Jill Chen, business development director, Hong Kong
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