11/19/2016
 4 minutes

The Most Expensive Watches In The World

By Robert-Jan Broer
Patek Philippe Skymoon Tourbillon 5002P

In this article we will look at some of the most expensive watches in the world. These watches don’t cost several thousand Euros, they don’t cost as much as a new Porsche 911 Turbo, they are “out-of-this-world-expensive”, in some cases even millions. For. One. Watch.

This is just an overview with an indication of a couple of the most expensive watches in the world. We know that Audemars Piguet, Roger Dubuis and a handful of independent watchmaking companies create watches that have similar or even higher price tags.

Also we didn’t include auction results or records because they regularly change and prices for unique vintage pieces are strongly connected to many influences.

If you feel we left one out that should be mentioned, please mention it below in the comment.

Vacheron Constantin Tour de I’lle

Vacheron Constantin Tour De L'ile
Vacheron Constantin Tour De L’ile, Image: Vacheron Constantin

Introduced in 2005, Vacheron Constantin came with this masterpiece to celebrate its 250th anniversary. A whopping number of 834 parts are necessary for the 16 complications this timepiece houses. Only 7 pieces were manufactured by one of the oldest maisons, with a list price of – then – 1.500.000 USD. These 16 complications include a perpetual calendar, minute repeater, second time zone, tourbillon, equation of time and sky chart.

Richard Mille Tourbillon RM 56-02 Sapphire

Price over 2mio USD, the Richard Mille RM 56-02 has a case made of sapphire. Besides having a tourbillon complication on board of its titanium made movement, the real novelty was the all sapphire case. Not that sapphire is very expensive as such, but to create a case totally made out of this material and to keep it strong enough to withstand daily abuse, is a different story. There are only 10 pieces of the RM 56-02 around, which all needed 40 full days (24 hours x 40) of machining to get the job done. And that was for the case only.

The Hublot $5 million

Hublot Big Bang 5 Million
Hublot Big Bang 5 Million, Image: Hublot

The only watch in this list that reveals the list price in its model name. This Hublot is only for the real ballers it seems. Not only due to the price tag (or model name), but also for the creation itself. Over 1200 diamonds are encrusted on the watch, 140 carats in total. Setting has been done by the Bunter company just outside Geneva. Difficult to identify, but the case itself is made of white gold. Inside is the HUB1100 movement, a time-only caliber. It is also the only watch where the price is mainly about diamonds, not the complications.

Greubel Forsey Art Piece 1

During the SIHH a couple of years ago, Greubel Forsey introduced their Art Piece watch. A collaboration between watchmakers Greubel Forsey and Willard Wigan. Wigan is a micro-artist who created these nano-sculptures that were set into the Art Piece watch. Equipped with a small microscope in the case band at 9 o’clock, owners of the watch could enjoy the creation by Wigan. Furthermore, the Art Piece 1 had of course a double tourbillon complication. The watch retailed for 1.5mio Swiss Francs. Just to make sure that you understand, the nano-sculptures (of a sailing ship for example) fit in the eye of a needle.

Patek Philippe Skymoon Tourbillon 5002P

Patek Philippe Skymoon Tourbillon 5002P
Patek Philippe Skymoon Tourbillon 5002P, Image: Haute Time

Patek Philippe masters technical complications for many decades, but this Skymoon Tourbillon however, was the talk of the town when it was introduced. Even for them this was something really special. 13 Complications on two dials, that is what this Patek Philippe is able to deliver to its owner. Besides the time, there’s a perpetual calendar, minute repeater, moonphase, sidereal time, moon descension and a celestial chart. If you are willing to depart with roughly 1mio Euro, that is.

Pocket Watches

Vacheron Constantin 57260 Most Complicated Pocketwatch
Vacheron Constantin 57260 Most Complicated Pocketwatch, Image: Vacheron Constantin

If the Tour de I’lle wasn’t crazy enough, 10 years later, Vacheron Constantin introduced a pocket watch reference 57260. Patek Philippe’s Caliber 89 pocket watch had 33 complications and was record holder for a long time, the Vacheron Constantin 57260 beat it with its 57 complications. These 57 complications can be divided over chronometric complications (tourbillon, world time, rattrapante etc.), astronomic complications (think all sorts of calendars, including a Hebraic perpetual calendar, sunset and sunrise indicators, sky charts, moonphases, sidereal time etc) and chiming complications (grand sonnerie, minute repeater, petite sonnerie, alarm etc). A piece unique with no price tag on it, but one can imagine that this must be one of the most expensive watches in the world.

Pocket watches simply have more ‘room’ to host complications. The Vacheron Constantin reference 57260 pocket watch for example, measures approx. 50.55 mm x 98mm.

Reasons

There are a couple of reasons why these watches are so darn expensive. Well, at least that is what the creators of these watches clearly state.

  1. Use of materials like diamonds, platinum, etc. and the amount.
  2. Complication of the movement, or to stay in horological terminology, the number of complications in the watch.
  3. Exclusivity, a manufacture that puts all its effort in creating just one or two watches needs to set a crazily high price tag, especially when no. 1 and no. 2 are applicable.

That said, also consider marketing costs and some “creativity” to be included in these prices. With all due respect of course.

As a watch enthusiast, we would say that the watches that have real value are those with very complicated movements, as it took a watch manufacture a lot of hours of highly skilled craftsman to develop and produce these movements. However, let’s not underestimate the craftsmanship needed to do diamond selection, cutting, polishing and setting.


About the Author

Robert-Jan Broer

Robert-Jan, founder of Fratello Magazine, has been writing about watches since 2004. However, his passion for watches dates back much further. In fact, he sold his …

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