The world of luxury watches has changed. As of 2022, there are no watches in the top 10 under $10 million. Here are the Alux.com Official Top 10 Most Expensive Watches in the World 2022 List. If you don’t feel like reading the article here’s the video version:
10
Patek Philippe Stainless Steel 1518 — Sold for: $11.14million
This stainless steel wristwatch was sold at auction in 2016 so if it were to be resold today the watch would probably fetch around $15 million. The value derives from being an absolute innovation when it was first introduced.
Patek was fighting Audemars Piguet for the title of absolute watchmaker at the time. Both companies cracked this complexity at roughly the same timeline. Patek made only 2 watches to carry this complexity, Audemars made 9.
The 1518 is one of those 2 stainless steel watches out of a series of 4 experiments. On the back of the watch underneath the serial, you can notice a number 1. It is considered by many the holy grail of wristwatches as it marks the beginning of a new phase in luxury watches. And to think it is just getting started on the list.
9
Jacob & Co Billionaire — Sold for: 18.2 Million
Jacob & Co are masters at gem-setting for luxury watches, so when they decided to make a one-of-a-kind statement piece they went all out.
Their concept was to create the most expensive and a beautiful watch, that only a billionaire could afford.A grand total of 177 carats of 325 emerald-cut and baguette-cut diamonds were carefully put together.
The watch got the international spotlight a few years ago when boxer Floyd Mayweather purchased it for 18.2 million dollars.
8
Rolex Paul Newman Daytona Ref. 6239 – Sold for: $18.7 Million
This is one of those rare watches that collectors are fighting for. Paul Newman was one of the most famous movie stars in the world. Rolex made a limited series with a specific style of dials that became known as the Newman Daytonas.
The most famous and valuable of the bunch was Paul’s very own. Scarcity, celebrity, a unique differentiator made this one of the most valuable watches to ever be sold at auction.
7
Patek Philippe “Henry Graves” Pocket Watch ~ Price: $24.000.000
This pocket watch is used to be the most expensive one in the world.It was sold for $11 Million back in 1999. That was some serious money back then. In 2014 it went to auction once again and this time it shattered every record out there selling for 24 million dollars.
Made in 1933 for banker Henry Graves by Patek Philippe himself, it took over 5 years to complete!It happens to be one of the most complicated and complex pocket watches in the world with over 24 functions!
Made out of 18 carat gold the watch used to be the world’s most expensive pocket watch until the number 4 on this list dethroned it, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
6
Chopard 201 Carat Watch — Price: $25.000.000
Renowned jeweler house Chopard looked at the watch market, looked at their collection of diamonds and said, “why not”?!With 874 rare diamonds, the Chopard 201-carat watch used to be the world’s most expensive watch and still is one of the highest-priced jewelry watches out on the market!
Sold in the year 2000 for this unbelievable amount of $25 million it made the front page of every luxury publication at the time – resulting in one of the most successful PR stunts of the company and since then, plenty of other watchmakers and jewelers have tried to replicate the model. If you think the display on this watch is tiny, wait till you see the next one!
5
Jaeger-LeCoultre Joaillerie 101 Manchette – Valued at: $26 Million
We’re halfway into your most expensive watches in the world list and frankly, this one is more bracelet than watch, but as long as it tells time you were compelled to add it. 577 rare diamonds were used in the creation of this piece.
The watch was gifted to Queen Elizabeth in 2012 as a tribute to her coronation day when the queen wore a watch by the same jeweler. The manchette hasn’t been seen since.
4
BREGUET GRANDE COMPLICATION MARIE-ANTOINETTE – Price: $30.000.000
As of 2022, this is one of the most luxurious and expensive pocket watch in the world!It was commissioned by an alleged lover of Marie Antoinette, the French queen.
Work on the watch began in 1782 by Abraham-Louis Breguet and was finished in 1827 by his son, 4 years after his death. The result, an amazing piece of design, class, and technology containing every function that was possible at that time.
Encased in gold, displaying the intricate mechanism running it, Breguet used sapphire to lower the friction within the piece.Marie Antoinette did not get to see the watch, since it was completed 34 years after her execution, but you can be sure she would’ve been impressed.
The watch was stolen in the late 1900’s and retrieved only in 2007 and watch collectors went crazy for it. If it were to go on the market today it would likely fetch a lot more than 30 million. Currently, the watch is secured at the L. A. Mayer museum so you can see it live if you’re in the area.
3
Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime Price $31 Million
If jewlers didn’t compete in this ranking, this particular Patek would be the most expensive watch in the world. In terms of rarity, value and collector appeal, this wins on all fronts. Sold for 31 million dollars in 2019 at auction, the one is a one-of-one.
Made in stainless steel, not some rare expensive material, the watch is currently the most advance watches Patek has ever made with over 20 complications. The watch was originally built for the Only Watch auction, which donates 100 percent of its proceeds to muscular dystrophy research, so charity had a play in all of this.
But before you move onto the next watch, there was a patek chime watch that briefly popped up on a watch reseller site for 72 million dollars last year, but the listing has been taken down since.
If by any chance a grandmaster chime would sell for that amount, it would become the absolute kind of watch, but you’ve got 2 more to go.
2
Graff Diamonds The Fascination – Price: $40 Million
Graff is the biggest name in diamonds and when they saw Chopard getting all that media attention they said: “We can do better”.So what did they do? They put 40 million dollars worth of diamonds on a watch and revealed it to the world.
The watch consists of 152.96 carats of white diamonds with a center fancy-cut exquisitely rare stone that is a 38.13-carat D Flawless pear-shaped diamond that detaches into a ring, making it a convertible watch.
But that’s not all.Graff wanted to make sure they are the undisputed leader in the watch/jewelry space so they thought: “Maybe 40 million dollars worth of diamonds isn’t enough” – so they challenged themselves to do even better.
1
GRAFF Diamonds The HALLUCINATION – Price: $55 MILLION
The Hallucination by Graff diamonds is the most expensive watch in the world valued at 55 million dollars. The incredible worth stems from 110 carats of really rare and really big colored diamonds set into a bracelet of platinum.
When diamonds are extracted and processed their color ranges from D to Z. The colored diamonds used for this particular watch qualify as “Fancy” which means they go beyond the normal scale as incredibly rare and valuable.
Laurence Graff’s comments on the Hallucination: “The Graff Hallucination is a sculptural masterpiece, a celebration of the miracle of color diamonds.
Bonus: Franck Muller Bitcoin Watch Holding 2423 Bitcoins
With the rise in crypto, people are trying to differentiate themselves as much as possible. Frank Muller decided to put a crypto wallet with 2423 bitcoins on a watch.
Technically, it’s a gimmick for them to get some press as you can add and withdraw as many of the bitcoins as you want and you don’t really need the watch to do it. But isn’t this what most of these jewelry makers did as well?
Just as a thought experiment.
If Bitcoin was to ever hit $100,000 dollars per coin. The wallet displayed on the watch would be worth over 2 billion dollars. Should that count in our ranking of the most expensive watches or not?
If not, is it still worth including the jewelry markers or should they be removed as well?
Really want to know your take on this!
This concludes the official alux.com list of the top 10 most expensive watches in the world! Check out our verified most expensive lists next!
