# Phillips

> Phillips is a privately owned global auction house focused on modern and contemporary art, design, photographs, editions, watches and jewels. It connects consignors with collectors through live and online auctions, private sales, appraisals and advisory work, while its Perpetual and Dropshop platforms add fixed-price watches and limited primary-market releases. The narrower category focus distinguishes Phillips from larger generalist rivals and has made watches a particular strength.

- **Founded:** 1796
- **Headquarters:** New York, United States
- **Founders:** Harry Phillips (Founder)
- **Team size:** Approximately 1,000 employees in supplied company data; LinkedIn listed more than 1,300 employee profiles in 2026.
- **Products:** Live and online auctions, Private Sales, Appraisals and fiduciary services, Phillips Perpetual, Dropshop
- **Notable:** Founded in Westminster in 1796 and reached its 230th anniversary in 2026., The only auction house known to have held a sale inside Buckingham Palace, in 1836., Reported $927 million in global sales for 2025, up 10%, with private sales above $200 million.

## Products & services

- **Live and online auctions** — Curated auctions in Modern and Contemporary Art, Design, Photographs, Editions, Watches and Jewels, staged principally in New York, London, Geneva and Hong Kong.
- **Private Sales** — Discreet brokered transactions outside the public auction calendar for collectors, estates and institutions.
- **Appraisals and fiduciary services** — Valuations for estates, gifts, insurance, donations, financial planning and loan collateral, plus support for trusts, estates and museums.
- **Phillips Perpetual** — A fixed-price boutique and online channel for buying and selling fine and rare watches.
- **Dropshop** — Limited-time, fixed-price primary-market releases made directly with artists, collaborators and brands, with resale royalties when works later return to Phillips.
- **Priority Bidding** — A lower buyer-premium structure for qualifying binding bids submitted at least 48 hours before eligible live auctions.

## Achievements

- Founded in Westminster in 1796 and reached its 230th anniversary in 2026.
- The only auction house known to have held a sale inside Buckingham Palace, in 1836.
- Reported $927 million in global sales for 2025, up 10%, with private sales above $200 million.
- Reported $507 million in spring 2026 auction sales, up 60% year over year, with 90% sell-through by lot.
- Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo reported more than $235 million in watch sales in spring 2026, its strongest watch season.
- Maintained a stated record of selling 100% of works estimated above $15 million since 2019.
- Sold Paul Newman's Rolex Daytona for $17,752,500 in 2017.
- Opened its New York headquarters at 432 Park Avenue in 2021 and its purpose-built Asia headquarters in West Kowloon in 2023.

## Latest updates

- **2026-07** — Phillips reported $507 million in spring 2026 auction sales, a 60% year-over-year increase, with 40% first-time buyers and nearly 70% of works sold online.
- **2026-07** — Phillips published an updated Priority Bidding program offering eligible early bidders savings of up to 4% on the buyer's premium.
- **2026-06** — Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo reported more than $235 million across Geneva, Hong Kong and New York spring watch sales.
- **2026-04** — A new buyer's-premium structure took effect for auctions from April 12, 2026.
- **2025-12** — Phillips reported $927 million in global sales for 2025, including more than $200 million in private sales.
- **2025-08** — Phillips introduced Priority Bidding for the fall 2025 season to reward qualifying early commitments with lower buyer premiums.

## Links

- Website: https://www.phillips.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/phillips
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/phillipsauction
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PhillipsAuction
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/phillipsauction/
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/phillipsauction

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/phillips
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-12