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The Most Expensive Watches in the Whole Wide World

From super-complication pocket watches to vintage wristwatches with famous owners, these are horology's big-ticket pieces

By Nick Pope and Murray Clark
most expensive watches in the world
Getty Images, George Daniels

Considering that everyone has the exact time, in every timezone on earth, in their pocket at all times, a mechanical watch that costs more than a house can seem like a curious investment. But these days, watches aren't really about telling the time. Or rather, they're not just about telling the time.

Instead, they're more like functional jewellery, a way for men to buy themselves something fancy but also know that what they've purchased does more than just look pretty. The best watches do, of course, look very pretty. But like an Italian sports car, your outlay also buys you precision engineering and decades of heritage. Which makes it all feel a bit more justifiable than dropping more than most mortgages on a ring with a big diamond on.

The most expensive watches on earth, then, tend to fall into one of two camps. On the traditional side, you've got six- and sometimes seven-figure timepieces that earn their price tag by squeezing incomprehensibly complicated engineering into teeny tiny cases. This is where you'll find the flagship watches by your Swiss old-guard (and the odd disruptive new brand), which use nothing more than cogs and gears to track the movement of the planets, or chime like Big Ben. On the other side, you've got watches that are expensive because they're made from expensive stuff – precious metals, hand-cut diamonds, bits of meteorites. Bling, basically. But when you want people to know that you've spent the GDP of a Pacific island on your watch, sometimes the best way is to make it glittery.

And then, a notch above both, you've got your one-offs – watches owned by famous people, or long-dead people, or, counterintuitively, the watches were made slightly wrong and are, therefore, completely unique (read: collectable). With the vintage watch market booming, this is where you'll find your expensive watch record-breakers, the timepieces that go for as much as a decent Premier League midfielder.

Here are the priciest of the bunch. For the sake of fairness, we've left out the models that are caked in bazillions of diamonds. Because that doesn't really count, does it? Have a look below:

Girard-Perregaux Quasar Light Tourbillon - £300,000

most expensive watches in the world
Girard-Perregaux

As part of a limited edition release of the signature Quasar model, the 'Light' model is one of just 18 worldwide.

Which doesn't sound all that special. After all, big fancy watch marques do this all the time. Girard-Perregaux accrues its cool £300,000 pricetag however thanks to its tourbillon movement composed of 79 different parts. It took over 200 hours of work, hundreds of operations and techniques honed over the course of 200 years. That sort of skill doesn't come cheap.

Chopard L.U.C All-in-One 'Janus Watch' - £374,000

chopard most expensive watches in the world
Chopard

Chopard is known as one of the horological greats – and with good reason. After winning watch of the year for their ‘L.U.C Full Strike’ at the 2017 Geneva Watchmaking Grand Prix, the marque dropped a familiar (yet no less exciting) watch the following year, with a price tag to match.

The L.U.C All-in-One combines exclusivity with well-known myth. Only ten watches in each edition (rose gold and platinum) were made – but the stimulus behind them is one most people will be familiar with.

Inspired by the Roman god Janus – famed for his two faces – this watch has two dials. It also bears some godly insides, too, with features that include a perpetual calendar, astronomical readings and a tourbillon – a complex rotating mechanical system which takes great skill to make. Sure, it may set you back a hefty £374,000 (or more, depending on the exchange rate) but it’s safe to say you can’t put a price on divine power.

Maitres Du Temps Chapter One Round Transparence - £404,000

most expensive watches in the world
Maitres Du Temps

Tick-tock supremos Maîtres du Temps are famous for bringing together some of the most exceptional watchmakers in the world to collaborate on game-changing models – and the 'Chapter One Round Transparence' is the perfect example.

A mishmash of idiosyncratic design and varying schools of horology (read: watchmaking), the 'Chapter One' is both classic and complex. That's not to mention the 18k red gold case and limited edition engraving that really sets it apart (only 11 models were made).

At a wallet-demolishing £404,000, it stands out as a much sought-after tribute to the industry's fascinating past and exciting future.

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Christophe Claret DualTow Night Eagle – £445,000

most expensive watches in the world
Christophe Claret

If Batman wore a watch, this would be it. Not only is it packed out with gadgetry, but it also looks moodier than a 14 year-old boy at a garden centre.

Limited to 68 pieces, the 'Night Eagle' is a modified version of the earlier 'DualTow' concept. The time is told on two revolving belts (no, not utility belts), and the movement offers a chronograph with a special planetary gear system.

It also features tourbillons (a mechanism that helps to counter the effect of gravity within the watch), a mini gong and hammer for its chime, and 65 jewels shimmering from within its dark colour scheme.

Bruce Wayne's probably reaching for his cheque book right now. This one's nice and all, but it's a little on the nose.

George Daniels Co-Axial Chronograph - £463,000

most expensive watches in the world
George Daniels

A more classic and minimalist style compared to the other pieces on this list - but why would the most important watchmaker of the 20th century need to be brash?

Daniels only produced a few dozen timepieces within his life, but his most important contribution to the industry was the invention of the 'Co-Axial Escapement' system (which he later sold to Omega.)

It was revolutionary for a number of very geeky reasons, but most importantly it allowed for longer times between servicing. The one-of-a-kind 'George Daniel Co-Axial Chronograph' sold for $619,000 at auction in 2012, and for good reason – its a piece of bonafide history.

Bulgari Magsonic Sonnerie Tourbillon watch – £464,000

most expensive watches in the world
Bulgari

When Italian jewellery company Bulgari purchased Swiss watch brand Gerald Genta, the most celebrated (and money-spinning) result was this: the Magsonic Sonnerie Tourbillon.

It's as loud as it proud, and contains enough ultra-complicated functionality for the proper 'heads' among us, notably an array of chimes that have been enhanced by a special "magsonic" alloy (that's a special metal that supposedly enhances the sound of music, although don't throw away your AirPods just yet).

At £620,000, it'll make just as much impact on your wrist as it will on your life-savings.

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Ulysse Nardin Hannibal Minute Repeater Tourbillon - £571,000

most expensive watches in the world
Ulysse Nardin

It would appear watchmakers have an appreciation for Roman culture. The Ulysse Nardin Hannibal Minute Repeater Tourbillion (that’s a mouthful) includes a motif nodding to the Hannibalic War.

However, the engraving is not the only thing that makes this watch so extravagant and expensive. Every component is hand-finished, from the main plate to the top bridge.

The watch boasts a ‘Westminster Minute Repeater’ which, if you were unaware or not a music aficionado, is no normal minute repeater. It has a unique musical system like Big Ben’s, albeit (hopefully) much quieter. With complex intricacies and a grand design, you get big thrills within a small watch, albeit at the even bigger price-tag of around £571,000

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Grande Complication - £741,600

most expensive watches in the world
Audemars Piguet

Audemars Piguet has previous when it comes to crafting head-spinning cocktails of complications (shop-talk for 'features') – in fact, it's probably been doing it longer than any existing watch manufacturer.

But the 'Grande Complication' is undoubtedly its best yet.

The fiddly insides are all hand-finished, cut-out and bead-blasted with polished bevels, and feature a matte surface underneath. This is all accompanied by a wealth of features, including split-second chronograph, perpetual calendar and a minute repeater.

And what's more, it look bloody lovely too. The titanium model will set you back more than £700k, but can you really put a price on style? (Yes. Yes you can. But it's OK to stare a little longer).

Rolex Paul Newman Ref. 6264 'John Player Special' - £1.145 million

most expensive watches in the world
Sotheby's

Nicknamed after the colours of the John Player Special sponsored Formula 1 Lotus car, the Rolex ref. 6264 is allegedly just one of 10 made in black and yellow gold.

It's rarer still to see one such piece available to buy. So, when the Paul Newman Daytona went on auction at Sotheby's, it smashed its original estimate to reach a staggering £1.145 million final bid, making it the most expensive watch to ever sell at UK auction.

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Franck Muller Aeternitas Mega 4 - £1.8 million

most expensive watches in the world
Franck Muller

With 36 different complications, 1,483 individual components, a 1,000-year calendar and a wealth of other eclectic features, the 'Frank Muller Aeternitas' has the potential to leave you as confused as a modern polling expert.

Labelled as the "Master of Complications" by ticker aficionados, the Swiss watchmaker has managed to cram an unprecedented number of utilities into the 'MEGA 4' model, which also features a glass sapphire case back and a piece of tourbillon on the dial.

Check out this guide to its myriad functions to get an idea of just how much of an engineering feat this is.

A. Lange & Söhne Grand Complication – £1.97 million

most expensive watches a lange  sohne grand complication  £197 million
A Lange & Söhne

Glashütte watch marque A. Lange & Söhne debuted its most expensive watch, the Grand Complication, in 2013. The model – of which only six have been made – takes over a year to craft, due to the sheer complexity of its construction: the 20mm thick gold case contains 876 moving parts, all measuring in at a diameter of 50mm.

The inspiration came from the Grande Complication No. 42500, a pocket watch dating back to 1902. The updated version features a minute repeater, a grand and small strike, a perpetual calendar and a rattrapante chronograph function with flying seconds (also referred to as split-seconds chronographs, which allows you to time simultaneous events. It’s a pricey implementation, and A. Lange & Söhne is one of the very few brands that makes them in-house.)

Patek Philippe Ref. 2499 Platinum - £2.7 million

the most expensive watches in the world patek philippe ref 2499 platinum
Christies

This 1987 timepiece from Patek Philippe was once owned by the guitarist Eric Clapton, before he sold it for $3.6 million at Christie’s Geneva Important Watch auction in 2013. He put it up alongside five other Pateks from his vast collection, which includes its fair share of classic Rolex watches.

Only two platinum models, which integrates 23 jewels, were ever made (in fact, only 25 complicated vintage Pateks are thought to exist, according to Hodinkee, and over half of them belong to the watch marque itself). Clapton wasn’t the first person to purchase the super rare model at auction, but he eventually got his hands on it in the early Noughties.

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Patek Philippe 5004T - £2.98 million

most expensive watches in the world
Patek Philippe

A one-of-a-kind timepiece produced in 2013 specifically for auction, the '5004T' is the only titanium version of the beautiful-but-alas-discontinued 'Patek Philippe 5004' collection.

The Swiss watch dons caused a stir in the industry when they created the rare edition, which adopted a sportier, more colourful look than its more conservative family members. Think of it as the Fresh Prince to the '5004's Carlton.

It sold at £2,985,000 in a hotly contested auction, and has been lusted after by longing wrists ever since.

Louis Moinet Meteoris Collection - £3.5 million

most expensive watches in the world
Louis Moinet

Named after Louis Monet, the celebrated 18th century-born father of chronograph watches, the 'Meteoris Collection's astronomical price tag is pretty fitting, all things considered.

The collection – four watches in total – feature precious stones and meteorite pieces integrated into the dials. Each watch showcases a unique piece of rare space rock: for example, the 'Tourbillon Mars' includes a fragment of the Jiddat al Harasis 479 meteorite, an authentic, 180 million year-old piece of the planet Mars that fell to Earth.

So yeah: pretty special. Martian meteorites can sell for as much as $1,000 per gram – more than 15 times the price of gold. It's the closest you'll get to experiencing space, short of sharing a Virgin Galactic flight with Richard Branson. He'd probably chat your face off for the whole journey, and make you drink Virgin Cola too. Go for the watch instead.

George Daniels Yellow Gold Space Traveller’s II pocket watch – £3.6 million

most expensive watches
Daniel's London

Back in the mid-70s, Dr George Daniels was visiting Zurich. He was already known then as one of the finest watchmakers in Europe, and had recently sorted out a particularly tricky bit of horological trickery. His coaxial escapement basically meant that his watches could be more accurate over a longer period of time, because they didn't need oil which gunked up the workings and slowed things down.

So he was very hot stuff. He was wearing his Yellow Gold Space Traveller one night when a collector asked Daniels if he could buy it. Daniels said it wasn't for sale, but the collector persisted. Eventually Daniels relented, but regretted letting the watch go. So with a couple of tweaks, he created this, perhaps his magnum opus. There's a lot of clever stuff going on in here.

Back in the day you'd have worked out how accurate your watch was by checking it against a precision clock set by the sun. But here you've got two separate trains which sort that out for you, using mean-solar and sidereal time. Could you check your phone? Yes. But it wouldn't be as good.

"When you are on your package tour to Mars," Dr Daniels once said, "you need a watch like this, and when using the telephone for long distance calls you could switch the chronograph into sidereal time to cut your bills by 3.555 minutes per day." Arf!!

Any savings on ringing the in-laws from Olympus Mons might be undercut by the fact that if you bought it in July 2019, it would have set you back a tidy £3.6 million at Sotheby's.

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Patek Philippe Nautilus “Tiffany & Co” – £4.9 million

most expensive watches
Patek Philippe

In 2021, Patek Philippe released a limited number of Nautilus 5711 sold exclusively through Tiffany & Co. The limited-edition stainless steel watch was released to celebrate the 170 year long relationship between Patek and Tiffany, which continues to this day.

This watch built on that relationship, with a double-signed dial and a note on the reverse dedicated to the relationship. As you might expect, the watch sported a Tiffany blue dial and, as you’d certainly expect, they were almost impossible to buy with only 170 ever made. The original retail price was a touch over $50,000 USD – significantly higher than the last ever 5711 to release, which hit stores six months before the Tiffany signed watch and cost around $35,000 USD.

The $50,000 USD retail price wasn’t particularly high, although one watch was held back and appeared a week later as a late addition to an auction hosted by Phillips. There, the real value of the watch soon became clear. After a round of frantic bidding, the watch sold for more than six and a half million dollars (just under five million pounds at the time), all of which was donated to Nature Conservancy, an environmental organisation.

The Tiffany watch stayed in the news even after the auction. Jay-Z was spotted wearing one while promoting a movie he was producing, before California-based watch collector Zach Lu came forward to confirm that he was the successful bidder at Phillips. Just under a year later, another of the 170 watches hit the market, this time selling at Christie’s for $3.2 million USD.

Patek Philippe Gobbi Milan Heures Universelles – £7.1 million

most expensive watches in the world
Christies

Forty cities around the world stud the dial of this creation from 1953, and the outer silvered ring rotates around a ceramic blue centre to show where night and day are falling and rising all around the world. It’s all encased in an 18 carat rose gold case.

Given that in November 2019 it sold for an extremely hefty $70,175,000 HKD at Christies in Hong Kong, or just over £7 million sterling, that’s a fairly expensive way of knowing whether your mate in Klondike is up and about yet. Just, like… text them maybe? Might be easier?

Patek Philippe “Prince Mohammed Tewlik A Toussou” Ref. 1518 – £7.9 million

most expensive watches
Sotheby's

When it sold at Sotheby's in 2021, this particular Patek piled past its $1.2 million estimate to go for $9.57 million. Why? Well, it's rare. Of course it is. But it's rare in a couple of very, very specific ways. Only 281 of these 1518 perpetual calendar chronographs were produced in the first place, and most of them came cased in a yellow gold. Just 58 were made with pink gold cases like this, and most of those had a silver dial rather than yet more pink gold. That makes the pink-on-pink 1518 super-rare. This one was only the 14th to come to market in nearly three quarters of a century.

And on top of that, these Pateks have a lot of caché with royals: King Michael I of Romania had one, as have King Farouk of Egypt and the King of Jordan. This one was bought in 1951 by Prince Mohammed Tewlik A Toussou, King Farouk's first cousin, just before the Egyptian Revolution kicked off in 1952.

He hung onto it his whole life, and kept it in a safety deposit box almost the entire time meaning it's as close to box-fresh a 70-something-year-old watch as you're ever likely to see and was the only pink-on-pink 1518 to come with its original certificate of origin. See? This is why you keep all the paperwork.

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Patek Philippe Ref 1518 In Steel - £8.9 million

most expensive watches in the world
Phillips

This isn’t just a grail piece. It’s in the holiest-of-holies tier of the grail pyramid: there were only four examples of the Patek Phillipe 1518 steel ever made, and when it was introduced in 1941 it was the first watch with a perpetual calendar and chronograph. It’s an unbelievably complex, rare and historically significant piece from a very collectable maker. On pretty much every level, it’s a world-beater.

So, it’s understandable that it went for 11,002,000 Swiss Francs (£8.9 million) at auction at Phillips in Geneva, a world record for a wristwatch at auction in November 2016. Seven bidders pushed it past the Only Watch Patek Philippe 5016 which sold a year before that for 7.3 million CHF (£5.9 million).

Paul Newman Rolex Daytona - £13.5m

most expensive watches in the world
Optimist Consulting

The eponymous Rolex gifted to Paul Newman by his wife Joanne Woodward (it's engraved with the message "Drive Carefully" in reference to his love for racing) in 1968, the Paul Newman Daytona has been considered a holy grail timepiece amongst collectors and fans for decades, but even the most fervent Rolex fanboys couldn't have imagined just how much it would reach in auction.

Given a conservative price tag of £1,000,000, King Cool's everyday watch, with its black-and-creme exotic dial, was eventually sold to an undisclosed phone buyer for a brain-melting £13,500,000 — the equivalent of 9,030 2017 Rolex Daytonas. At the time, that made it the most expensive wristwatch ever made. Until...

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