The world’s most exciting, exclusive, and extravagant timepieces are multi-million dollar creations, destined to end up in fiercely guarded private collections if not museums.
The world’s most expensive watches are in a class of their own. They appear to break world records, catch the eye of top collectors, and encourage millionaires, billionaires, members of royal families, and Hollywood A-listers to empty their pockets.
Our list of the world’s most expensive watches many of which also happen to be the rarest watches in the world which includes timepieces, from vintage pocket watches to timepieces more particular to luxury jewelry.
30. Hublot Million Dollar Caviar Black Bang – $1 Million
Only one piece of this timepiece was ever created. The Hublot Million Dollar Caviar Black Bang is not only the most exclusive Hublot to ever exist but also one of the rarest watches ever created in the world.
While the strap is constructed using modest rubber, the case is made using 18-carat white gold, and the watch face is encrusted with dazzling gold and black diamonds. Over 500 black diamonds cover the watch, weighing over 30 carats collectively.
The watch features a Hub Solo T tourbillon movement and comes with a 125-hour power reserve.
29. Patek Philippe Sky Moon Tourbillon -$1.09 Million
Patek Philippe Sky Moon Tourbillion went on auction back in 2019, estimating to acquire up to $1.6 million for its sale. The timepiece comes with 12 complications including a sky chart, moon phase, a leap year indicator, a minute repeater, moon age, and orbit display.
This watch first made headlines in 2007 for being one of the few existing watches to encompass both, multiple complications and a double-dial, after being introduced at the Baselwold fair in Switzerland.
With the watch being solely made to order and only a limited number of pieces ever created, Patek Philippe Sky Moon Tourbillon is one of the most exclusive watches to ever exist.
28. Greubel Forsey Art Piece 1 – $1.5 Million
Greubel Forsey Art Piece 1 is the result of a collaboration between Greubel and Stephen Forsey with artist Willard Wigan (known for creating microscopic art), who came together to create the perfect amalgamation of movement and art in a wristwatch.
A one of a kind unique timepiece, this watch features a micro sculpture fashioned by artist Wigan, that can be viewed from a tiny magnifier set in the crown next to 9 o’clock.
The dial comes in a striking blue color and features a Greubel Forsey 30 degree double tourbillon, and sapphire crystal glass casing.
27. Vacheron Constantin Tour de I’lle – $1.5 Million
Only 7 pieces of the Vacheron Constantin Tour de I’lle were crafted back in 2005 to celebrate the brand’s 250th anniversary.
Back when It was first released, this wristwatch was called the most complicated watch that existed worldwide, with 16 complications, and 834 individual parts housed in a pure 18-carat gold case with a blue sapphire glass.
The horological features in the Tour de I’lle include the moon phase, a perpetual calendar, a star map, sunrise and sunset times, power reserve indicator, and dual time zone.
Vacheron Constantin Tour de I’lle strap is made from alligator leather and the white dial is encrusted with 39 different jewels.
26. Richard Mille RM 56-02 Sapphire Tourbillon -$2.2 Million
The most expensive Richard Mille timepiece to ever exist is the 56-02 Sapphire Tourbillon, it was introduced to the world in 2014, with only 10 pieces being crafted.
56-02 Sapphire Tourbillon base plate is made from titanium, and the triple-tier watchcase is solely created using pure sapphire crystal, making it one of the most unique, scratch-proof, and exclusive watches to ever exist.
The watch features a single-axis tourbillon and is powered by a manually wound Calibre RM56-02.
25. Patek Philippe 5004T – $3.9 Million
Patek Philippe 5004T looks more sporty than a piece of high-end jewelry. However, this doesn’t affect its impeccable design or even its asking price.
After the 5004 series was discontinued by Patek Philippe, this rare 5004T version was crafted solely for the purpose of the auction.
It includes a perpetual calendar and a split-second chronograph. Made out of titanium, this timepiece is incredibly unique for the Patek Philippe brand and features stunning contrast stitching on the band, and a 40mm 18 carat white gold case.
24. Rolex Daytona Ref. 6263 Oyster Albino – $4 Million
Rolex Daytona 6263 is one of the most popular and expensive watches ever created by the brand. Only 4 pieces of this design were ever crafted, making the Oyster Albino watch one of the most exclusive Rolex to ever exist.
This timepiece owes its Albino nickname to its white, black, and silver design that features a manually wound Calibre 727, made from stainless steel.
The 6263 Oyster sold for $4 million in a 2015 auction.
23. Louis Moinet Meteoris – $4.6 Million
Louis Moinet is known to create timepieces that excel in mechanics, technology, movement, and design.
These qualities are extremely evident in Moinet’s Meterois collection that includes 4 exquisite timepieces, each containing a piece of space rock inside them.
The four watches are sold together as a set and portray the solar system collectively. The Tourbillon Mars contains a piece of a meteorite fallen from the planet, while the others contain a piece of a meteorite fallen from the planet Mercury and a piece of moon rock.
22. Hublot Big Bang Diamond – $5 Million
Hublot Big Bang Diamond is the most opulent and expensive watch ever created by a famous watch brand.
Crafted using 18-carat white gold, the watch is encrusted with 1200 white baguette diamonds that are all of grade A VVS clarity, and 6 emerald diamonds that all weigh over 3 carats.
The Hublot Big Bang Diamond comes with a 42-hour power reserve and made headlines in 2012 when famous singer Beyonce gifted this timepiece to her rapper husband, Jay Z, for his 43rd birthday.
21. Patek Philippe Worldtimer Guilloché – $5.5 Million
Patek Philippe’s world timer is one of only four in existence. only two versions of the timepiece have ever appeared at auction.
This one is crafted in rose gold with an elegant and highly distinctive guilloché patterned dial.
One of the first Patek Philippe creations to incorporate the brand’s dual crown system, you use one crown to wind the watch and the other to control the city disk for the 24-city timer.
The combination of polished and brushed surfaces adds to the sophisticated aura of this watch.
20. Patek Philippe Platinum World Time – $5.8 Million
This watch already broke a world record as the most expensive watch ever after going on sale at Antiquorum’s Geneva auction in April 2002, where it went for 6.6 million Swiss francs.
It was then hardly seen again until it arrived at Christie’s Hong Kong auction house in 2021.
Today, it no longer holds the status of the world’s priciest watch, but it remains a highly coveted timepiece. The only platinum reference 1415 HU in the world, this Patek Philippe masterpiece offers serious high-end drama with its monochrome aesthetic.
The world-time mechanism is considered Patek Philippe’s first production world timer.
19. Patek Philippe Yellow Gold Calibre 89 – $6 Million
Patek Philippe Calibre 89 was made from 18 carats (75%) gold or platinum, with an estimated value of $6 million.
It took five years of research and development, and four years to manufacture. Four watches were made: one in white gold, one in yellow gold, one in rose gold, and one in platinum.
The yellow-gold and the white-gold Calibre 89 were sold at auction by Antiquorum in 2009 and 2004, respectively, and both watches currently rank among the top 10 most expensive watches ever sold at auction, with final prices over 5 million US dollars.
Weighing only 1.1 kg, the timepiece features no less than 33 complications, including sunrise and sunset times, world time for 125 cities, a perpetual calendar, split-second chronograph, minute repeater, barometer, altimeter, and compass.
Despite this impressive engineering, Calibre 89 failed to find an owner during its most recent auction.
18. Rolex Daytona Unicorn – $6.1 Million
“The Unicorn” Rolex, a watch that generated much excitement when Phillips announced its auction, has become the second-most expensive Rolex ever sold at auction.
The white gold Rolex Cosmograph Daytona Ref. 6265 was sold as part of the “Daytona Ultimatum” thematic auction held by Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo on May 12 in Geneva, where it went for CHF 5.9 million ($5.9 million), nearly doubling its pre-sale estimate.
Collectors can’t get their heads around the existence of a white gold vintage Daytona. The Daytona was meant to be an everyday sports watch and so the decision to make it from a material as luxurious as white gold is unconventional.
The Rolex Daytona Ref. 6265 was manufactured in 1970 and today comes with a deluxe white gold bracelet. This one-off wonder also features a beautifully contrasting black dial with white gold indexes.
17. Patek Philippe Titanium Ref. 5208T-010 – $6.6 Million
The Reference 5208 Triple Complication wristwatch showcases Patek Philippe’s mastery in the sphere of grand complication watches.
It brings together a minute repeater, a monopusher chronograph, and an instantaneous perpetual calendar displayed in apertures along an arc.
This is also one of the very few ultra-complicated watches endowed with a self-winding mechanism. Orchestrating this highly sophisticated combination of functions is a movement comprising 719 parts, hand-finished throughout in accordance with the great Genevan tradition.
Reference 5208T-010 was created especially for Only Watch 2017. It stands out as the first and only version of this timepiece ever produced in titanium, a metal rarely used for a Patek Philippe.
This unique piece features a blue dial adorned with a hand-guilloched carbon fiber pattern, underlining the manufacture’s role as protector of the rare handcrafts.
The caliber R CH 27 PS QI movement, visible through a sapphire-crystal display back, also presents a distinctive finish with the entire movement being black rhodium-plated. The platinum micro-rotor is hand-guilloché with the same decoration as the dial. A blue Cordura strap echoes the dial color.
16. Patek Philippe Gold Chronograph Ref. 1527 – $6.8 Million
This important precursor of future Patek Philippe wristwatches created quite a stir when it was first launched in the 1940s.
Its case design was indisputably avant-garde in style and proportions, rounder, larger, and with elongated and slightly curved lugs.
Despite the efforts of horology experts to uncover the details, not much is known about this watch, except that it was one of just two Ref. 1527 timepieces. It features a chronograph with date and moon phases.
The movement also includes 23 jewels. The buckle is made from18k gold which, along with the watch’s rarity, partly explains the reason why it fetched such a high price when sold at auction.
15. Patek Philippe White Gold Calibre 89 – $6.9 Million
Patek Philippe first created the pocket watch to commemorate the brand’s 150th anniversary and incorporates an almost outrageous number of complications, including a second time-zone, sunrise and sunset timer, perpetual calendar, century leap year correction, solstice and zodiac indication, and an unusual date of Easter indication.
This latter complication is particularly noteworthy complicated to create given it’s determined astronomically and varies each year.
Patek Philippe Calibre 89 was made from 18 carats (75%) gold or platinum, with an estimated value of $6 million. It took five years of research and development, and four years to manufacture.
With the extensive engineering going on inside the case, it’s no wonder that this astronomical watch is an impressive 88.2 mm in diameter and 41.07 mm thick.
14. Patek Philippe Two-Crown Worldtime Ref. 2523 Eurasia Dial – $7.7 Million
It is known as a ‘grail’ watch. This Patek Philippe timepiece is one of the most mythical and legendary in the horological world befitting of a brand that has created some of the best men’s watches of all time.
The watch is known as the Silk Road 2523. Its standout feature is a dial featuring a map of Eurasia.
It also features a world time complication, dual crown, 41-city ring, and is both elaborate and instantly iconic at once.
Only three yellow gold 2523 world timers with this particular watch exist.
13. Patek Philippe Stainless Steel – $7.9 Million
Patek Philippe timepiece is based on the brand’s reference 5016 and is an exquisitely complicated and wondrously high-end creation.
While Ref. 5016 fell out of production around 2011, the company decided to resurrect it. The Stainless Steel Ref. 5016A-010 is incredibly rare and this one-off is totally unique.
The timepiece features a minute repeater, a tourbillon, and a perpetual calendar with retrograde date, three of the most cherished watch complications.
It also comes with a distinctive blue dial made of Grand-Feu enamel and the movement is housed inside a small 36.8 mm case.
12. Vacheron Constantin 57260 – $8 Million
It was produced for a private client, this Vacheron Constantin timepiece is the most complicated watch in the world and includes 57 different complications, made up of 2826 individual components and 242 jewels.
Ten of those complications were brand new horological inventions at the time of manufacture. Its exceptional functions include The Judaic calendar, a night mode, and a double retrograde split-seconds chronograph.
The case is fairly simple and unfussy, allowing the peerless mechanics to take center-stage. It took 8 years to design and create this watch.
11. Patek Philippe Gobbi Milan ‘Heures Universelles’ – $9 Million
Patek Philippe is particularly skilled at creating the kind of watches that collectors will fight over and this double-crown world timer is yet another example.
Featuring a blue enamel dial that contrasts beautifully with the luxurious 18k pink gold case. It features the Heures Universelles world time system as patented in the 1930s by horological icon, Louis Cottier.
And it’s also the only known reference 2523 to feature the signature of both Patek Philippe and Gobbi Milano.
10. Patek Philippe Stainless Steel – $12 Million
Part of a limited edition four-piece series, the main appeal of this particular watch lies in its case.
It is made with a high-grade stainless steel case, it distinguishes itself from other Patek Philippe luxury watches, typically made of yellow or rose gold.
First introduced in 1941, the Patek Philippe Ref.1518 made horology headlines as the first-ever perpetual calendar and chronograph.
9. Jacob & Co. Billionaire Watch – $18 Million
It is encrusted with 189 carats of Akosha diamonds a cut that’s meant to make each diamond appear 30% bigger than a standard emerald cut diamond.
Then there’s the skeleton face where you can see the intricate and handcrafted tourbillon movement at work, composed of 167 elements and 18 jewels.
The bracelet and dial are seamlessly integrated and made of 18k white gold with a final rose-cut jewel on the crown.
8. Rolex Paul Newman Daytona – $18.7 Million
Actor Paul Newman was known for his love of fine watches and for being a devoted racing car fan. Hence why, when it was commissioned in 1968, his wife Joanne Woodard had this watch engraved with the words Drive Carefully.
With its unusual black and cream exotic dial and elegant Art Deco style, the Paul Newman Rolex Daytona Ref.6239 appeals to more than horological buffs.
The auction lasted only 12 minutes before the watch was sold to the highest bidder by telephone.
7. Patek Philippe Henry Graves Supercomplication – $26 Million
It was originally crafted in 1933 for a wealthy American banker named Henry Graves.
This Patek Philippe gold pocket watch took 7 years to design and build, back when watchmaking had to rely on craftsmen rather than the calculations of computers.
It remains one of the world’s most expensive pocket watches, its impressive range of complications includes a perpetual calendar, minute repeater with Westminster Chimes, sunrise and sunset times, and a celestial chart based on the night sky as it looked from Graves’ home in New York.
6. Chopard 201-Carat – $25 Million
Chopard 201 carat timepiece makes a statement with 874 diamonds, 201 carats in total with a whole range of spectacular colors.
This 25 million dollar watch is probably the magnum opus of the Swiss watchmaker, a favorite of both A-listers and royalty.
The Chopard timepiece, with its 15-carat pink diamond, 12-carat blue diamond, and 11-carat white diamond gives it a bling that makes it stand out.
5. Jaeger-LeCoultre Joaillerie 101 Manchette – $26 Million
Jaeger-LeCoultre crafted this timepiece as a gift for Queen Elizabeth II to celebrate the 60th year of her reign.
Its unique profile is made from white gold and featuring a series of polished and diamond-set links, plus a miniature caliber 101 movement (one of the smallest in the world).
This watch deserves to be worn in the chambers of historic palaces and to exclusive state functions. The watch has a price tag of $26 million.
4. Breguet Grande Complication Marie Antoinette – $30 Million
Legend has it that this watch was originally commissioned for the French Queen Marie Antoinette, by one of her lovers.
Crafting this exceptional piece took around 40 years and she was executed before the work was complete, adding to the romance and enigma of this historic timepiece.
It is encased in gold, it includes every complication that existed at the time, including a perpetual calendar and thermometer.
After being stolen in the late 1900s, the watch is now safely locked away in the L.A. Mayer museum but is available for purchase for $30 million.
3. Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime – $31 Million
This timepiece has two dials, one on the front, one on the back. It is the third most expensive watch in the world sold at $31 million.
The most expensive Patek watch ever sold, the Grandmaster Chime boasts 20 different complications, including five different chiming modes (hence the name), as well as an acoustic alarm and date repeater.
Both dials are blue opaline with gold-applied numerals and 18K solid gold dial plates. The case is white gold and the strap is made of navy blue alligator leather.
2. Graff Diamonds The Fascination – $40 Million
Occupying second place in our list of the most expensive watches in the world is “The Fascination” with a price tag of $40 million USD.
The Fascination is the work of Graff Diamonds, a British jeweler brand known for acquiring and polishing some of the world’s most famous diamonds.
Not only is The Fascination a masterpiece of horological craftsmanship but it’s also a unique demonstration of diamond mastery.
This timepiece consists of 152.96 carats of white diamonds and a 38-carat pear-shaped diamond dial in the middle, which can also be worn as a ring.
1. Graff Diamonds Hallucination – $55 Million
The most expensive watch ever made is another Graff Diamonds creation “The Hallucination”. The Hallucination is, as the name suggests, truly breathtaking and brilliantly fantastical.
Featuring a kaleidoscopic array of 110 carats of different colored diamonds in a range of different cuts, set into a platinum bracelet.
The Hallucination brings high-fashion to the world of Horlogerie. About as far from a tactical watch as you can get, it’s almost easy to forget this piece’s timekeeping capabilities but there is a tiny dial in the center of all that sparkle.
With the eye-watering high price tag of $55 million when it was first unveiled at Baselworld in 2014.
The Hallucination is the culmination of thousands of hours of work from a team of designers, gemologists, and expert craftsmen.
Summary
Luxury can be acquired with wealth, this explains the reason behind the expensive prices of the timepieces we listed, our all-time favorite is the Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime Ref. 6300A-010.
What’s yours? Drop your reply in the comment section…
