Prominent tech founder recently handed over Australia’s largest ever Swiss watch auction

Somewhere in Australia, a prominent Australian tech founder has decided to give up a piece of his incredible watch collection. Not all this. This is enough to make history.

Estimated total value of what he sent first state auction This is the largest single offering of Swiss luxury watches ever in this country. Estimates for the references run from $4,000 to north of $500,000 at the auction, which is being divided into two auctions this month.

This is the type of catalog that usually comes up in Geneva salerooms. This is not the list you see scrolling through on a Tuesday morning in Sydney. And the lead piece is one that almost no one can afford.

Here is a very small selection of the watches offered.

Rolex Cosmograph Daytona “Rainbow”

The Rainbow is a watch that collectors chase and rarely catch. Yellow gold, a graduated arc of sapphires on the bezel, diamonds underneath, and a waiting list that acts like a velvet rope. If you’ve ever wanted one, you already know that you can’t buy it easily. Here, this is the initial work.

richard mille rm 016

Skeletonized, diamond-encrusted, and unmistakably RM. The clock that tells the room that you stopped asking permission a long time ago.

Rolex GMT-Master II

Yellow gold with a bezel set with sapphires, rubies and diamonds. Circa 2006, and impossible to replace effectively.

rolex submariner

Yellow gold, blue dial, a dive watch that never actually gets wet. Yet the most quietly flexible Rolex in any room.

rolex datejust pearlmaster

White gold, purple dial, a bezel of multicolored sapphires. Fast in the best possible way, and rarely seen on Australian soil.

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Chronograph

Pink gold case, blue chronograph dial, the most recognizable bezel in horology. If rainbow is loud, this is one you’ll actually wear every day.

First State Auctions is hosting this historic auction

This kind of collection doesn’t go anywhere. since 1995, first state auction Has made its name as Australia’s most trusted home for buyers and sellers of luxury. Thirty years is a long time to get it right, and in this game, reputation is the only currency that holds its value.

Each watch in this consignment goes through a rigorous authentication process before reaching the catalogue. First State runs an in-house laboratory that uses advanced equipment to examine each piece in forensic detail, supported by qualified Swiss watchmakers and horologists with decades of combined experience.

In a market where clones get better every year, that lab is the difference between a trophy and a very expensive mistake.

How to participate in this auction

Here’s the part you work on. is a collection Split into two online auctions. The first opens on 12 July and closes on 19 July. The second opens on 19 July and closes on 26 July.

To bid on any of this, including Rainbow, you must first register. Registration is freeAnd it’s the only way through the door.

Do it now, before the rest of the country comes to terms with what has just happened.