In 2025, Phillips consolidates its role in the global market, with double-digit results and a strategy that integrates art, design, and luxury objects in a contemporary key.
How did Phillips’ global sales grow in 2025?
2025 closed for Phillips with a decisive change of pace. Global sales reached 927 million dollars, up 10% compared to the previous year, bringing the auction house closer to the symbolic billion-dollar threshold. The core of the business remains the auction channel, which generated 725 million dollars, with a solid sale rate of 88% and 94% by value.
A particularly significant figure concerns the private sales, which exceeded 200 million dollars, recording an increase of 66%. Additionally, one-third of buyers participated for the first time, and almost 70% of the lots were sold online, confirming a structural change in collectors’ habits.
What role did digital innovation play, from Priority Bidding to online sales?
One of the central points of the year was, in September 2025, the launch of the Priority Bidding platform. This tool allowed for a 275% increase in early bids, almost quadrupling them in a few months, thanks to a commission structure that rewards those who move early. In this way, the auction house directly intervenes in the competitive dynamic, both in the room and online.
That said, digital expansion was not limited to new functionalities. The fact that almost 70% of the lots were sold through online channels shows how the house has been able to capture a younger generation of collectors accustomed to digital transactions, in line with trends already evident at operators like Sotheby’s and Christie’s.
How have evening auctions and content offerings changed?
On the content front, the evening art auctions exclusively offered market-new works, never before auctioned. This choice enhances the appeal for an international clientele seeking rarities, differentiating the offering from more traditional catalogs based on already circulated works.
Additionally, in November 2025, the house introduced for the first time natural history objects within modern and contemporary art sales. The selection, gathered under the title “Out of this World“, was led by Cera, a young Triceratopo, which more than doubled the minimum estimate and exceeded 5 million dollars.
Why is the watch sector strategic for Phillips?
The watches sector, developed in collaboration with Bacs & Russo, achieved its best-ever result in 2025, with an annual total of over 290 million dollars. This figure coincides with the tenth anniversary of the partnership, confirming the leadership of this division in the international landscape.
Moreover, the house was the first to surpass the 200 million dollars annual threshold in this segment for five consecutive years. Over the year, more than 1,800 watches were sold, and 36 pieces exceeded one million dollars, a record for the sector, strengthening its positioning against historical competitors.
Phillips: the results of jewelry and design in auctions
The jewelry department marked a significant milestone with the sale in Geneva of the Vanderbilt collection, an operation that consolidates the house’s reputation in an increasingly strategic area for major international collectors. The combination of illustrious provenance and the quality of the stones attracted a global audience.
In the field of design, the year was characterized by new auction records for figures like Judy Kensley McKie, Guy de Rougemont, Adolf Loos, and Kathy Butterly. These results confirm Phillips’ central role in the segment, in line with the market’s growing attention to 20th and 21st-century collectible design.
The results of photography and editions in Phillips auctions
Photography recorded a growth of 16%, driven especially by the historic sale “Visual Language: The Art of Irving Penn”, organized in collaboration with the Irving Penn Foundation. The auction set a new record for the photographer, strengthening the role of photographic works in the house’s portfolio.
In parallel, the company expanded its presence in the editions market. It held its first dedicated sale in Hong Kong and debuted in New York with the MODERNISM sale, focused on works from the second half of the 20th century and beyond. This strategy allows for capturing different collector segments compared to traditional masterpiece auctions.
What is the strategic vision expressed by CEO Martin Wilson?
The words of CEO Martin Wilson summarize the path taken. The head of the house emphasizes how Phillips has expanded its vision of what an auction house can be today, intertwining art, design, and luxury objects and reaching a new generation of digital collectors.
With an eye already on 2026, the year of the 230th anniversary, the company claims renewed confidence and the ambition to lead, not just accompany, the future of collecting. In this context, the combination of technological innovation, content expansion, and openness to new audiences appears as the cornerstone of its medium-term strategy.
As expert in digital marketing, Amelia began working in the fintech sector in 2014 after writing her thesis on Bitcoin technology. Previously author for several international crypto-related magazines and CMO at Eidoo. She is now the co-founder and editor-in-chief of The Cryptonomist and Econique.
She is also a marketing teacher at Digital Coach in Milan and she published a book about NFTs for the Italian publishing house Mondadori, while she is also helping artists and company to entering in the sector. As advisor, Amelia is also involved in metaverse-related project such as The Nemesis and OVER.
