Model wearing lots 94, 95, and 96 from the New York Jewels Auction.
[EOY VIDEO PLACEHOLDER]
As 2025 comes to a close, we at Phillips Editorial would like to thank you, our lovely and engaged readers, for another year of distinct content that spanned three continents, dozens of auctions, and hundreds of articles. This year also marks the first time since this department was formed that we haven't received an email asking us to fix product copy for a light bulb or toothbrush made by our Dutch health technology and consumer goods friends, and that's the sort of thing KPIs don't account for.
With warm wishes for a creative and convivial 2026, here are the leading stories from an all-embracing year across the globe.
Favorite Drop: Cj Hendry
A selection of juju collectible vinyl toys.
Cinéastes will recall the 1996 holiday classic Jingle All the Way, in which Messrs Sinbad and Schwarzenegger tear up a store in search of the last Turbo Man action figure — the performance satirizes consumer culture's tendency toward individualism at the expense of community; something we, as urbane art types, generally avoid, right? Think again. In case you missed the original drop, have a look through the 24 distinct iterations of Cj Hendry's juju charms that had our New York and London offices scrambling to get one in a way not seen since the Great Furby Shortage of 1998.
Favorite Time Traveler: Cera
A blast from the past unlike any other: the first full juvenile Triceratops ever discovered and the first Triceratops of any kind to appear at a U.S. auction in over a decade. This 66-million-year-old marvel headlined Out of This World, our first specially curated section dedicated to extraordinary natural specimens.
Favorite Perspective: Stine Goya
Designer Stine Goya. Photograph: Petra Kleis.
"All of us start from emotion and try to transform it into something physical — something others can feel too. That said, fashion is more collaborative and often bound by seasonality, practicality, and wearability. Some constraints push creativity in different directions. Artists might have more freedom in their mediums, but in the end, we’re all trying to tell a story through form, colour, and composition."
We wholeheartedly agree with the sentiment, Stine, and we also vibe with the couch.
Favorite Director: Francis Ford Coppola
You've seen his movies, but have you seen his watch? Francis Ford Coppola’s F.P.Journe FFC Prototype led the Phillips New York Watch Auction: XIII, setting a new world auction record for F.P.Journe and a new world auction record for a watch by an independent watchmaker. Keep your friends close, but your watch even closer.
Favorite Lost Art: Writing Letters
Gio Ponti, 'Miei cari' letter, circa 1955. Design London.
We'd like to have some data on how many emails ever find the recipient well in a fundamental sense. We're not rising, we're not grinding. We're not circling back, checking with the team, following up on the notes, pinging, chasing, opening a ticket, or closing a thread. We know you had ChatGPT clean up your prose and Grammarly launder the syntax through ten billion scraped LinkedIn posts. In 2026, we'll be expecting all correspondence to take a page from Gio Ponti's letters and bring a little life back into the written word and/or image, depending on your GPU.
Favorite Hidden Talent: Doing Your Own Stunts
The hardest part of making this video, according to a source speaking on background to Editorial, was shrinking Rebecca Tooby-Desmond to fit on the gavel. "It's a classic procurement headache. We had originally planned for her to fit inside a painting, but the painting never arrived, and we only had a Medium Shrink Ray. Next thing I know, I'm sprinting to the shop for a smaller ray and the director is ringing me, saying she'll be on a gavel now, and we only have an hour to shoot." That's showbiz, baby!
Favorite Accessory: K-Pop
Cartier Sapphire and Diamond Ring. The Hong Kong Jewels Auction.
A word to the wise: Spotify still tracks your listening habits in Private Session. Either that or someone on the department's account was listening to BLACKPINK more than they're letting on. Part jewelry showcase, part 2025 Wrapped playlist, this K-pop-studded rundown will have every BLINK (블링크), OT7, and STAY (스테이) fan admiring the stones that light up with their icons.
Favorite Photographer: Irving Penn
Phillips and The Irving Penn Foundation met at the Penn family farm to explore the artist’s legacy and inimitable practice. The landmark sale Visual Language: The Art of Irving Penn, set a new auction record for the artist.
Our whole team got in on the action, with voices from around the house celebrating their favorite works, and we even dove deep into the legendary photographer's printing process.
Favorite Eras Tour: Watches
A Circa 2022 Rolex Day-Date Ref. 228345RBR in 18k Everose Gold with Olive Green Dial that was included in the Phillips New York Sessions, Fall 2025, Online Auction.
Is there another one we're not aware of? Another year of world records at Phillips Watches, and that's just Logan Baker's editorial output. It's fitting that an anniversary year for the Watches team began and ended with white-glove sales, continuing the streak of five straight years of 100% sold live auctions. Somewhere between all of those perfect games and globe-trotting exploits, our guys even launched a podcast. Forget time on their hands, it's flying off their wrists.
Favorite Gallery Tour: Design London
Luiz Kessler, founder of JCRD Design, in the Phillips London gallery.
Domenico Raimondo, master of the rapid-fire question: Minimalism of maximalism? Curves or angles? Handcrafted or industrial?
Luiz Kessler, master of the rapid-fire answer: Good design starts when a question has been answered.