The 18-carat pink gold Patek Philippe has a rare translucent blue enamel dial and is known by the name of the 177-year-old Milan-based shop where it was sold, Gobbi.

The estimate is US$7 million to US$14 million, which Christie’s said is the highest for any wristwatch offered in an auction.

The sale is scheduled for Nov 27, and it continues a trend in which auctioneers increasingly offer prestigious lots in Asia, to tap demand by collectors in China, the world’s largest market for Swiss watches.

Christie’s is showing the timepiece along with other lots to journalists in Hong Kong today to drum up interest.

The months-long protests have deterred shoppers from mainland China, causing a plunge in sales of Swiss watches in Hong Kong, even as luxury companies like LVMH and Hermes International have made up lost sales elsewhere.

To date, the most expensive wristwatch sold at auction was a stainless-steel Daytona Rolex that once belonged to Paul Newman.

That piece fetched US$17.8 million in 2017, handily exceeding its estimate, which was more than US$1 million.