$2m not enough for rare Patek Philippe watch

Geneva: A chronograph wristwatch which belonged to an Italian racing driver fetched 2.345 million Swiss francs ($2.25 million) at auction, Sotheby's said on Monday.

The gold Patek Philippe watch, originally owned by Count Carlo Felice Trossi, president of Scuderia Ferrari, went for the highest price for a wristwatch sold at Sotheby's.

Sotheby's said before Sunday night's sale in Geneva that the watch, known as the 'Trossi Leggenda', was 'almost certainly unique' and could bring two million Swiss francs. It was the star lot among nearly 200 watches.

Trossi was a racing driver, pilot and speed boat racer whose motor-racing victories included the 1947 Italian Grand Prix.

"It is a watch of great symbolic and historic importance as it came out in 1932, a turning point which also saw car racing and the emergence of aeroplanes," Geoffroy Ader, Sotheby's head of watches in Geneva, said. "The combination of Patek Philippe and Ferrari make it an exceptional watch," he said. "People who can buy these kinds of watches have a quest for the perfect watch. Once they've found it, they will go for it with no limit," Ader said.