The primary purpose of a watch is to tell its wearer the time whenever he or she wants or needs to know it. But luxury watches transcend mere timekeeping. They are symbols of wealth, craftsmanship, and history, making them sought-after collectors’ items. The most expensive watches in the world are crafted by legendary luxury watch manufacturers as masterpieces of engineering and design. These high-end watches, often adorned with rare gems and innovative features, represent the pinnacle of luxury and sophistication in the watchmaking industry.
The following list ranks the ten most expensive watches in the world. Each of the world’s ten most expensive watches comes from prestigious names that have set records in the world of luxury timepieces, with prices going well into the tens of millions. The ranking is based on the prices each luxury watch demands or has achieved at auctions. Only the most expensive watches (wristwatches, chronographs, pocket watches, etc.) are ranked here, other timekeeping or clock types are not part of the ranking.
The 10 Most Expensive Watches in the World
1. Graff Diamonds Hallucination
The Graff Diamonds Hallucination is the most expensive watch in the world. Priced at $55 million, the Graff Diamonds Hallucination stands as a pinnacle of luxury watchmaking, merging exceptional craftsmanship with the opulence of rare gemstones. Unveiled at Baselworld 2014, the watch is intricately composed of 110 carats of vivid and large colored diamonds, set into a platinum bracelet that showcases a spectrum of colors including Fancy Vivid Yellow, Fancy Intense Pink, and Fancy Green, among others. The watches’ diamonds were meticulously chosen for their rarity and durability, forming a captivating kaleidoscope of colors.
The Hallucination watch boasts eight different colors of diamonds, including the highly coveted pink diamonds, which are valued at around $2 million per carat. The watch also features a tiny, specially designed dial encrusted with candy-pink diamonds. The exclusive design and craftsmanship behind the watch took over two and a half years and a team of 30 specialists, designers, and jewelers.
The watch was made by British jeweler and watchmaker company Graff Diamonds. Despite its monumental value, the Hallucination watch has never been sold and remains in the possession of Laurence Graff, the British founder, owner and chairman of Graff Diamonds.
2. Graff Diamonds The Fascination
The Graff Diamonds The Fascination is the second most expensive watch globally, with an estimated value of $40 million. It is also the world’s most expensive woman’s watch. This watch embodies another pinnacle of horological craftsmanship and diamond mastery. Unveiled at Baselworld 2015, The Fascination also stands as the world’s most valuable transformable timepiece as the watch can be turned into a bracelet or a ring.
The watch is encrusted with 152.96 carats of white diamonds, with a 38.13-carat D Flawless pear-shaped centerpiece diamond. The case material of The Fascination was crafted with white gold to add another touch of elegance to the watch.
The exclusive watch was, too, made by British luxury jeweler and watchmaking company Graff Diamonds and is yet to be sold.
3. Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime
The Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime comes third among the most expensive watches in the world. Introduced in 2014 to commemorate Patek Philippe’s 175th anniversary. Its intricate design includes 1,366 components and 20 complications, making the Grandmaster Chime the most complicated wristwatch ever made. The Swiss luxury watch company designed the watch in honor of its Graves Supercomplications pocket watch from the 1920s and as a general testament to the brand’s emphasized dedication to excellence, innovation, luxury, and elegance. Priced at around $31 million for a unique stainless steel model sold at auction, the Grandmaster Chime is therefore not just a watch, but also represents a valuable piece of horological history.
The watch boasts a double-fact dial, with the front meant for timekeeping and the chiming of the watch’s various setting options and the back dedicated to the perpetual calendar. Each side was crafted from 18k-carat gold plates.
The Grandmaster Chime is the most expensive non-exclusive watch in the world right now. The watch is notably a favorite among many of the world’s biggest celebrities, and its wearers include Jay-Z, one of the best-selling rappers of all time.
4. Breguet Grande Complication Marie Antoinette
The Breguet Grande Complication Marie Antoinette ranks fourth in the ranking of the ten most expensive watches, while also being the world’s most expensive pocket watch. Commissioned by an anonymous admirer of the former French Queen in 1783 and taking 19 years to complete, the Breguet Grande Complication Marie Antoinette, also known as the Breguet No. 160, is the by far oldest among the world’s most expensive watches. The exclusive watch was completed in 1802 by the world-renowned Swiss-French watchmaker Abraham-Louis Breguet, seven years after the death of its namesake, Queen Marie-Antoinette. The watch is therefore seen as both a marvel of horological artistry and history, valued at $30 million.
The watch features a minute repeater, perpetual calendar, equation-of-time display, jumping hours, and more, totaling nearly a dozen complications. The Grande Complication Marie Antoinette was crafted from gold and platinum, featuring rubies and sapphires. With 823 parts, it was the by far most complex timekeeper of its era and considered the absolute masterpiece of Breguet’s wide portfolio of watches that included thousands of uniquely crafted timekeeping pieces.
The watch was sold to Australian businessman Sir Spencer Brunton in 1887, who then sold it to British scientific author and public official Sir David Salomons, known to have been the world’s biggest collector of Breguet watches. Before he died in 1925, Salomons donated the watch to the Museum of Arts and Crafts in Paris, from where it eventually landed in the L.A. Mayer Institute for Islamic Art in Jerusalem. From there, it was stolen in 1983 but miraculously recovered in 2007.
5. Jaeger-LeCoultre Joaillerie 101 Manchette
The Jaeger-LeCoultre Joaillerie 101 Manchette completes the Top Five of the world’s most expensive watches. This luxury women’s watch is especially renowned for featuring the world’s smallest mechanical engine, the Calibre 101, a marvel of micromechanical engineering. Priced at $26 million, the Jaeger-LeCoultre Joaillerie 101 Manchette is, however, not just a timepiece but also a piece of luxury jewelry.
The watch’s case and bracelet are made from white gold and embellished with 576 diamonds, though the number of diamonds is customizable. The watch also boasts an 18k-carat pink gold case and a sapphire dial. The women’s luxury watch therefore merges precision mechanics with high jewelry.
The Joaillerie 101 Manchette is an exclusive creation by the Swish luxury watchmaking company Jaeger-LeCoultre. It was made for Queen Elizabeth II to commemorate her 60th year of reign as Queen of the United Kingdom. After her death, the watch is now in the possession of the British royal family.
6. Chopard 201-Carat
The Chopard 201-Carat Watch places sixth among the world’s most expensive watches. The watch was crafted by Swiss luxury watchmaking company Chopard in 2000, and now has a price tag of $25 million. The allure of the watch lies in its vibrant array of colored diamonds, making it one of the most coveted luxury watches. In total, the watch includes 874 diamonds, totaling 201 carats, hence the name. The diamonds do not just vary in color, but also in shape featuring around 300 pear-shaped diamonds, around 100 round diamonds, and three bigger heart-shaped diamonds.
The heart-shaped diamonds are set against a backdrop of the pear-shaped and round D-color flawless diamonds, The bracelet’s design incorporates flower shapes centered around an 8.81-carat yellow diamond, further complemented by 26 pear-shaped yellow diamonds. A unique technical feature of this watch is its spring-loaded mechanism, which upon activation, unveils the pavé-set watch face through the blossoming of the three heart-shaped stones.
This mechanism, combined with the natural allure of the colored diamonds, sets the Chopard 201 – Carat Watch apart as a marvel of both jewelry and watchmaking.
7. Patek Philippe Henry Graves Supercomplication
The Patek Philippe Henry Graves Supercomplication comes seventh among the most expensive watches in the world. It is also the second-most expensive and valuable pocket watch ever created. Commissioned by the American Wall Street banker Henry Graves in 1925, the custom-made timepiece took Swiss watchmaking company Patek Philippe seven years to create and to this day is considered an absolute horological masterpiece. Valued at over $24 million when last auctioned, the Henry Graves Supercomplication is not merely a watch but its legacy still continues to inspire watchmakers and collectors alike.
The watch boasts 24 complications, which include a perpetual calendar, a minute repeater with Westminster Chimes, sunrise and sunset times specific to New York City, and a celestial map of NYC as seen from Graves’ apartment on Fifth Avenue. In total, the watch consists of 920 individual parts, including 70 jewels. The watch is also encased in 18-carat gold.
The Patek Philippe Henry Graves Supercomplication remained in the Graves family until 1969 when it was then sold to American businessman Seth Atwood, who owned the Time Museum, a horological museum in his hometown of Rockford, Illinois. In 1999, the watch was then sold to Sheikh Saud bin Muhammed Al Thani, a prince of the Qatari royal family. After his death, the pocket watch was then sold to an anonymous businessman living in Switzerland in 2014, bringing the Patek Philippe Henry Graves Supercomplication back to its country of origin.
8. Jacob & Co. Billionaire Timeless Treasure
The Jacob & Co. Billionaire Timeless Treasure is the eighth most expensive watch in the world. The Timeless Treasure is part of the Billionaire Watch series, made by American jewelry and watchmaking company Jacob & Co., making the watch the most expensive and valuable American-made watch of all time. While each model in the Billionaire Watch collection is designed as a blend of high-end tourbillon movements and extravagant luxury gem-setting, the Billionaire Timeless Treasure represents the series’ and the company’s absolute masterpiece, priced at $20 million.
The watch features a yellow gold case with 46 Asscher-cut yellow diamonds and a bracelet adorned with 378 Asscher-cut yellow diamonds, totaling approximately 214.77 carats. The dial of the Timeless Treasure is flanked with 76 kite-cut and emerald-cut tsavorites, surrounding a skeletonized tourbillon caliber JCAM39 movement.
Having been unveiled only in 2023, the Jacob & Co. Billionaire Timeless Treasure is also the by far newest among the world’s ten most expensive watches.
9. Rolex Paul Newman Daytona
The Rolex Paul Newman Daytona ranks ninth among the most expensive watches in the world. The watch was made by Swiss company Rolex, the world’s biggest luxury watchmaker and one of the leading luxury brands overall in the world. Commissioned by Newman’s wife, Rolex created the watch as a one-off edition, officially named Daytona Ref. 6239, specifically for American actor Paul Newman in 1968, based on Rolex’s Daytona series. The watch was personally owned and worn by the iconic actor and racing enthusiast, making it an unparalleled piece in the world of vintage Rolex collecting.
While the watch is less feature-rich than the other expensive watches, its value is directly linked to its wearer, which gives the watch its iconic status and value of around $17.8 million when last auctioned. Its significance is, however, further highlighted by its unique dial, a feature exclusively associated with Newman’s watch, and the engraved “Drive Carefully Me” message that was requested by Joanne Woodward, Newman’s wife who commissioned the watch.
The Rolex Paul Newman Daytona remained in Newman’s possession until 1984 when he gifted it to then-18-year-old James Cox, who dated Newman’s daughter at the time and was helping him build a treehouse on the actor’s property. Cox later donated the watch to the Nell Newman Foundation, a humanitarian charity organization in honor of the deceased actor and his many philanthropic activities. In 2017, it was then sold to an anonymous buyer.
10. Patek Philippe Stainless Steel Ref. 1518
The Patek Philippe Stainless Steel Ref. 1518 completes the list of the ten most expensive watches in the world. The watch by the Swiss luxury watchmaking company was made in 1943 and was part of the 1518 series, the world’s first wristwatch series. It is considered a beacon of horological technology, featuring the 13-130Q caliber, a modified Valjoux 13 ligne ebauche. Patek Philippe released the watch mostly in yellow gold and pink gold case versions, and only four of the 281 pieces have stainless steel cases, but the Stainless Steel case variant remains the by far most valued and iconic one of the series to this day. Its auctioned price is valued at around $11 million.
The watch has a dial with applied numerals and leaf-shaped hands, as well as a tachymeter scale on its outer periphery. The watch also features a perpetual calendar function and displays the day, month, and even moon phases.
The first owner of the Stainless Steel case watch was a man called Joseph Lang from Budapest, Hungary. The last time one of the four existing Patek Philippe Stainless Steel Ref. 1518 was sold was in 2016 when a piece was sold at an auction in Switzerland.
The 10 Most Expensive Watches in the World:
| Year of release: | Made by: | Value: | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. GRAFF DIAMONDS HALLUCINATION | 2014 | Graff Diamonds (UK) | $55 million |
| 2. GRAFF DIAMONDS THE FASCINATION | 2015 | Graff Diamonds (UK) | $40 million |
| 3. PATEK PHILIPPE GRANDMASTER CHIME | 2014 | Patek Philippe (Switzerland) | $31.2 million |
| 4. BREGUET GRANDE COMPLICATION MARIE ANTOINETTE | 1802 | Breguet (France) | $30 million |
| 5. JAEGER-LECOULTRE JOAILLERIE 101 MANCHETTE | 2012 | Manufacture Jaeger-LeCoultre (Switzerland) | $26million |
| 6. CHOPARD 201-CARAT | 2000 | Le Petit-Fils de L.-U. Chopard & Cie (Switzerland) | $25 million |
| 7. PATEK PHILIPPE HENRY GRAVES SUPERCOMPLICATION | 1932 | Patek Philippe (Switzerland) | $24 million |
| 8. JACOB & CO. BILLIONAIRE WATCH | 2023 | Jacob & Co. (USA) | $20 million |
| 9. ROLEX PAUL NEWMAN DAYTONA | 1968 | Rolex (Switzerland) | $17.8 million |
| 10. PATEK PHILIPPE STAINLESS STEEL REF. 1518 | 1943 | Patek Philippe (Switzerland) | $11.1million |
The ten most expensive watches in the world by valued price based on last sales. Only the ten most expensive watches are listed, including wristwatches and pocket watches. Other types of timekeepers/clocks aren’t eligible for the ranking.
