Consigning a watch to Christie's: the same premium as Sotheby's, to the decimal
The two largest houses have converged exactly: Christie's charges the same three rates at the same thresholds as Sotheby's. Unlike Phillips, Christie's publishes no separate watch schedule — a watch is charged the same as a painting. The seller's side is not published at all.
Schedules read 2026-09-24. Platforms change their fees without much notice — check against your own invoice before you rely on a figure.
What it charges a seller
A fully published buyer's premium with no watch carve-out, and a seller's side Christie's does not publish at all
| Buyer's premium — first tier (New York)Paid by the buyer, not by you. It still shapes your result, because it sits between what a bidder is willing to spend and what the lot can hammer at. | 28% of the hammer price up to and including $2,000,000 |
|---|---|
| Buyer's premium — second tier | 22% from $2,000,001 up to and including $8,000,000 |
| Buyer's premium — third tierThe same three rates apply in London (£1,500,000 / £6,000,000), Geneva (CHF 1,600,000 / CHF 7,000,000), Hong Kong (HK$15,000,000 / HK$60,000,000), Paris (€1,750,000 / €7,000,000), Shanghai and Dubai at their own thresholds. | 15% from $8,000,001 |
| Watch-specific rateThe schedule covers all collecting categories except wine and Gooding Christie's. A watch is charged exactly what a painting is charged. Phillips is the one house on this site that publishes a lower rate for watches. | None |
| Seller's commissionChristie's publishes the buyer's premium in full and no consignor rate at all. Terms live in the private agreement you sign. | Not published |
| Wine, for contrastOnly relevant here to show that Christie's does vary its schedule by category when it chooses to — it simply has not chosen to for watches. | 25% flat, with no threshold |
- Listing fee
- None published. Christie's offers a complimentary and confidential valuation request through its specialists.
- Minimum fee
- No minimum consignment value is published.
Getting paid, and what's required of you
- Payout timing
- Not published. The buyer's premium schedule, which is the rate card Christie's makes public, carries no settlement timetable, and the seller-side material published alongside it is a set of liability terms rather than a payment schedule. Sotheby's, by contrast, publishes 45 days.
- Account
- Consignment runs through a specialist department, as at any auction house. Christie's publishes a free valuation request as the entry point rather than a self-serve seller account.
- Authentication
- Not established by the sources read for this page.Not addressed in the sources read for this page. Auction houses catalogue and research lots through specialist departments rather than running a published pass-or-fail authentication programme, which is a different thing from the marketplace model.
- What it covers
- Governed by the Conditions of Sale for the relevant saleroom — Christie's publishes separate sets for Dubai, Geneva, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, New York, Paris and Shanghai, plus separate online and wine conditions. None was read for this page.
What it's good at
- Watches at the level where two global houses bidding for the consignment gives you leverage on terms that are negotiated rather than published.
- Consignors who want the widest possible international bidder pool across eight salerooms rather than the deepest specialist watch audience.
- Anyone comparing houses on the buyer's side, since Christie's and Sotheby's now publish an identical schedule and the difference between them has to be found elsewhere.
What to watch out for
- There is no watch discount. Phillips publishes 27% / 21% / 14.5% for watch auctions specifically; Christie's charges a watch the same 28% it charges everything else.
- The premium tells you half the economics at most. With no published seller's commission, the only way to know your side is to get it in writing before you sign.
- No settlement window is published, so when you actually get paid is a term to negotiate rather than a number to look up.
- Rates are quoted excluding local sales taxes, and Christie's notes local taxes may be payable on the premium itself.
- The schedule changed effective 1 September 2026. Check the date on the live page before relying on any figure here.
Christie's publishes its buyer's premium to the decimal and its seller's commission not at all. That is the normal auction-house shape, and this site already covers two others — but the Christie's schedule is worth reading next to them, because of what it reveals about where the market has settled.
The rates
Effective 1 September 2026, in New York:
- 28% of the hammer price up to and including $2,000,000
- 22% from $2,000,001 up to and including $8,000,000
- 15% from $8,000,001
London, Geneva, Hong Kong, Paris, Shanghai and Dubai run the same three rates at their own local thresholds. All figures are quoted excluding local sales taxes, and Christie's notes that local taxes may be payable on the premium itself.
The two big houses now charge exactly the same
Put the schedules side by side and the comparison is not close — it is identical:
- Christie's, New York — 28% to $2,000,000, then 22% to $8,000,000, then 15%
- Sotheby's, New York — 28% to $2,000,000, then 22% to $8,000,000, then 15%
Same three rates, same two thresholds, same currency. Whatever is left to choose between the two houses for a watch consignment, it is not the buyer's premium.
That matters practically: if you are weighing Christie's against Sotheby's, the published numbers give you nothing, and the decision has to be made on the specialist department, the sale calendar, the audience for your particular reference — and on the seller's terms neither house publishes.
And neither of them discounts watches
Phillips does. Its watch auctions run at 27% / 21% / 14.5%, against its own general schedule of 29% / 22% / 15%, with the first threshold at $1,000,000 rather than $2,000,000.
Christie's has no such carve-out. Its schedule explicitly covers all collecting categories except wine and Gooding Christie's — so a wristwatch is charged what a Rothko is charged. The house clearly will vary a schedule by category when it wants to; wine sits at a flat 25% with no threshold at all. It simply has not done so for watches.
Why a buyer's premium concerns a seller at all
You do not pay it. The buyer does. It still shapes your outcome, because it sits between the bidder's budget and your hammer price: a bidder working to a total of $25,000 is bidding to roughly $19,500 at 28%, not to $25,000. Every point of premium is a point of bidder budget not available to you.
That is the whole reason a lower premium is worth something to a consignor — indirectly, not as a discount on anything you are charged.
What Christie's does not publish
The seller's commission. Nothing. Sotheby's at least states a standard rate in its glossary while saying terms are agreed case-by-case; Christie's publishes no consignor figure on the pages read here.
When you get paid. The buyer's premium page carries no settlement timetable, and the seller-side material published beside it is a set of liability terms dated April 2019 rather than a payment schedule. Sotheby's publishes 45 days. Christie's leaves it to the agreement.
Both of those are negotiable precisely because they are unpublished. Get them in writing before you consign, and treat the absence of a number as an invitation rather than an obstacle.
Sources
- Christie's - How to buy at Christie's: Financial information (buyer's premium; effective 1 September 2026) - a buyer's premium is payable by the successful buyer of an item at auction; based on the hammer price of each lot sold; the current rates are an amount equal to 28% of the hammer price of each lot up to and including £1500000/US$2000000; plus 22% of the hammer price from £1500001/US$2000001 up to and including £6000000/US$8000000 and 15% from £6000001/US$8000001; the page states THESE RATES APPLY TO ALL AUCTIONS; EXCLUDING WINE; WHICH HAS A DIFFERENT SCHEDULE - there is no separate schedule for watches; the complete schedule covers ALL COLLECTING CATEGORIES EXCEPT WINE AND GOODING CHRISTIE'S and gives the same three rates of 28.0%; 22.0% and 15.0% at local thresholds: London up to £1500000 then to £6000000; New York up to $2000000 then to $8000000; Hong Kong up to HK$15000000 then to HK$60000000; Paris up to €1750000 then to €7000000; Geneva up to CHF 1600000 then to CHF 7000000; Shanghai up to CNY 10000000 then to CNY 50000000; and Dubai up to $2000000 then to $8000000; the wine schedule (effective 7 February 2022) is 25.0% with no threshold for global sales except Shanghai and 20.0% for Shanghai; all rates are quoted exclusive of local sales taxes and local taxes may be payable on the buyer's premium; the page adds that bidding generally opens below the low estimate and advances in increments of up to 10% subject to the auctioneer's discretion; with a published increment table running from $100 to $2000 by $100s through $100000 to $200000 by $10000s and the auctioneer's discretion above $200000. The page publishes no seller's commission and no settlement or payment timetable for consignors. — retrieved 2026-09-24 · buyer's premium effective 2026-09-01
- Sotheby's Buyer's Premium Chart (rates as of 13 February 2026) - the chart states PLEASE NOTE THESE RATES EXCLUDE LOCAL TAXES AND ANY APPLICABLE ARTIST RESALE RATES; and gives the same three-rate structure of 28%; 22% and 15% across New York; London; Paris; Switzerland; Hong Kong and Singapore; with the New York thresholds at a hammer price up to and including $2000000; then between $2000000 and $8000000; then above $8000000; London at £1500000 and £6000000; Paris at €1750000 and €7000000; Switzerland at CHF1600000 and CHF7000000; Hong Kong at HKD15000000 and HKD60000000 and Singapore at SGD2600000 and SGD10000000; the UAE and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia follow New York and Milan and Cologne follow Paris; Global Wine and Spirits is charged separately at 24% on all hammer prices plus a 1% Overhead Premium on all hammer prices; there is no watch-specific buyer's premium and watches take the standard non-wine schedule for the sale's location — retrieved 2026-09-22 · rates as of 2026-02-13
- Phillips Buyer's Premium Rates (effective 10 April 2026) - Phillips publishes a separate and lower buyer's premium schedule for Watch Auctions than for its general sales; under Watch Auctions the New York table gives 27% of the hammer price up to and including US$1000000; 21% on the portion above US$1000000 up to and including US$6000000 and 14.5% on the portion exceeding US$6000000; Geneva Watches gives 27% up to and including CHF1600000; 21% above that up to and including CHF7000000 and 14.5% above CHF7000000; and Hong Kong Watches gives 27% up to and including HK$15000000; 21% above that up to and including HK$60000000 and 14.5% above HK$60000000; the watch tables are headed Standard Buyer's Premium Rates (live and timed online only auctions) and carry no Priority Bidding column; by contrast the general New York table gives standard rates of 29%; 22% and 15% at thresholds of US$2000000 and US$8000000 with Priority Bidding rates of 25%; 20% and 14% for live auctions only; all rates shown exclude local taxes which may be payable on the buyer's premium — retrieved 2026-09-22 · effective 2026-04-10
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