Sotheby's to auction first-ever watch accompanied by NFT

The exclusive bidding will help to benefit children with critical illnesses through Make-A-Wish® UK.

Art and luxury marketplace Sotheby’s is set to auction an exclusive timepiece from its SPYMASTER series, the first watch series accompanied by non-fungible tokens (NFT), in the upcoming Hong Kong Important Watches Sale on 23 April.

SPYMASTER 008#, the timepiece to be offered in the auction, is estimated to be worth between $170,000 to $300,000, with the proceeds set to fund Make-A-Wish® UK and its programmes for children with critical illnesses.

The NFTs are unique cryptographic tokens which provide an immutable record of the provenance of each watch, via blockchain technology.

“Spearheading the constantly evolving market, Sotheby’s is proud to be entrusted as the first major auction house to offer an NFT with a timepiece, bringing the latest technology – which has been making headlines in the past few weeks – to the watch communities this April,” Sotheby’s worldwide head of watches Sam Hines said.

The SPYMASTER series is a limited edition of 21 titanium timepieces handmade in Switzerland, and is the result of a collaboration between New York-based museum and experience pioneers SPYSCAPE and horological pioneers Ressence.