This is one of two rare silver-gilt enamel and pearl center seconds watches, which realized more than three times its estimate at Sotheby’s auction of Important Watches and Clocks in New York on Dec. 6.

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New York--Sotheby’s sale of “Important Watches & Clocks” here on Dec. 6 realized a total of $8.8 million, marking the highest-ever total for this type of auction in New York.

The auction sold 86 percent by lot and 90 percent by value, and 93 percent of the lots sold brought prices within or above their pre-sale estimates.

“We are thrilled with today’s record result for New York,” John Reardon, head of Sotheby’s watches department in New York, said. “Our strategy as a team has been to focus on the client experience, both for our buyers and consignors, and the diverse offering we presented them resulted in a range of global interest that included top buyers from Asia to the United States, Europe and Africa.”

The sale was largely dominated by timepieces from Patek Philippe, and led jointly by two of the brand’s wristwatches that each achieved the same price. A 2004 Patek Philippe platinum tonneau automatic minute-repeating perpetual calendar wristwatch (below), with retrograde date and phases of the moon, realized $482,500. This is one of the most complex watches ever made by Patek Philippe, with a total of 515 parts.

An exceptionally rare and historically important 1937 Patek Philippe 18-karat yellow gold world time wristwatch (below), “Heure Universelle,” also realized $482,500.

The auction also offered a strong selection of timepieces made for the Chinese market, which performed well with all of the eight lots sold, doubling the group’s high pre-sale estimate to a cumulative $727,500. A rare pair of complementary silver-gilt enamel and pearl center seconds watches (below), circa 1860, realized $236,500, triple its high pre-sale estimate of $70,000.

A group of timepieces by Cartier sold 100 percent and cumulatively realized $386,625, well above their high estimate of $264,000. A Cartier rare gold and enamel portrait timepiece with wandering hours (below), circa 1919, realized $122,500, nearly double its high pre-sale estimate of $65,000.

At the very start of the sale, 30 of the 31 pocket watches and wristwatches from the collection of the late John Traina were sold for a total of $233,878, after a high pre-sale estimate of $175,000.

Sotheby’s will next hold an auction of fine watches on Dec. 13, and an auction of fine jewels on Dec. 14. Both sales will take place in London.