Wristwatches aren’t just for telling time anymore. Some of them cost more than fancy cars or even houses! Let’s take a look at the top five most expensive wristwatches in the world:
1. Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime: £24.1 million/$31 million
The Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime costs £24.1 million or $31 million. It’s the priciest wristwatch ever sold at auction. It has two dials, 20 functions, and special chiming modes. Buying it feels like getting two watches for the price of one, making it a good deal despite the high cost.
2. Patek Philippe Henry Graves Supercomplication: £15.36 million
Although not it is not a wrist watch, it deserves to be on this list because the Patek Phillipe claims this is the most complicated watch ever made without computer design and manufacture. Commissioned in 1925, it contains 430 screws, 110 wheels, and 70 jewels among its 920 individual parts.
The watch has broken records twice at auction, first in 1999 at Sotheby’s for $9 million to Sheikh Saud bin Muhammad Al Thani of the Qatari royal family, and again in 2014 after his death for $24 million, setting a new mark for any timepiece. The watch was sold after a five-minute bidding war.
3. Paul Newman Rolex Daytona: £13.5m
The Paul Newman Rolex Daytona was gifted to Paul Newman by his wife Joanne Woodward in 1968. It has been a cherished timepiece among collectors and fans. It was initially priced at £1,000,000, but it was later sold to an undisclosed phone buyer for £13,500,000, equivalent to 9,030 2017 Rolex Daytonas. This made it the most expensive wristwatch ever made. The eponymous Rolex Daytona, engraved with the message “Drive Carefully” in reference to Newman’s love for racing, has been a holy grail timepiece for decades.
4. Patek Philippe Ref 1518 in Steel: £8.9 million
The Patek Phillipe 1518 steel wristwatch, introduced in 1941, is a rare and historically significant piece from a collectable maker. Only four examples were ever made, and it was the first watch with a perpetual calendar and chronograph. It went for $11,002,000 Swiss Francs (£8.9 million) at auction at Phillips in Geneva in November 2016, breaking the world record for a wristwatch at auction. Seven bidders pushed it past the Only Watch Patek Philippe 5016, which sold for 7.3 million CHF (£5.9 million) a year earlier.
5. Patek Philippe “Prince Mohammed Tewlik A. Toussou,”: £7.9 million
The Patek 1518 perpetual calendar chronograph, which was only produced in 281 cases, sold for $9.57 million at Sotheby’s in 2021. The pink-on-pink 1518 is rare, as only 58 were made with pink gold cases and a silver dial. It was the 14th to come to market in nearly three quarters of a century.
The watch was purchased in 1951 by Prince Mohammed Tewlik A. Toussou, who was King Farouk’s cousin. He owned it for most of his life and kept it in a safe box. This watch is about 70 years old but looks brand new and includes its original certificate.
If you convert the prices of these watches to Naira, you’ll see how incredibly expensive they are.