12 Of The Most Expensive Watches Ever Sold, Ranked

Collectors of any kind are usually willing to pay significant premiums for the most desirable pieces in their chosen medium. Be it fine art, cars, or luxury watches, the greatest examples of each can command figures at auction that are higher than the vast majority of people could ever hope to earn in their lifetimes. That's always been the case, however, in the past few years, the watch market in particular has seen some incredible new records set for the most expensive watches.

It's no surprise that the rarest pieces from major luxury watch brands like Patek Philippe and Rolex dominate the sales charts, but there are plenty of other desirable brands that have recently set sales records too. From classic to contemporary watches, the market has been red hot, leading to astonishing auction results.

We've picked out a selection of ten of the most expensive watches sold to date, each fetching seven or eight-figure sums amid frenzied interest from collectors.

Abraham-Louis Breguet was a pioneer of watchmaking, inventing many of the technologies that still underpin modern watches and, in the process, becoming a favorite among both the French and British royalty of his day. His most valuable watch sold to date appeared at a Christie's auction in 2012, and was the first to feature two separate movements. This was designed to display both solar and mean time — the former being the literal reading that might be taken off a sundial, and the latter working on the assumption that the sun moves in a consistent manner.

The watch also featured a repeater mechanism, making it one of the most complex pieces of its era. Despite Breguet's undoubted importance in watchmaking, he only made relatively few watches, and many are under long-term ownership in museums. That makes the opportunity to own one at all extremely rare, let alone one of the most unique examples. That explains how the watch managed to sell for so far above its original estimate: experts expected it to fetch between 800,000-1,400,000 Swiss Francs, but the hammer eventually came down at 4,339,000 Francs, or roughly $4.63 million.

This prototype watch was created by F. P. Journe and sold at a Christie's charity auction in 2021 sporting a very distinctive unique feature: a hand in the center of the face that indicates time on its fingers, using an ancient counting method to display a number between one and 12. The idea for the watch came about through a conversation its creator had with director Francis Ford Coppola in 2012, who suggested using the ancient method in place of the traditional hour hand.

It took two years of planning and a further seven years of building and development before the prototype was ready, and it was this one-off creation that was sold at the auction. It features a unique blue hand with 18K rose gold movement and an orange alligator skin strap. Although it remains a unique prototype piece, the watchmaker began offering a limited-run production version in 2023, albeit with a silver hand rather than the distinctive blue one.

In what was promised to be the first product of a longer partnership between Audemars Piguet and Marvel, a Black Panther-themed limited-run watch was unveiled in 2021. A one-off variant was sold off for charity, donning a white gold case, a Wakanda-inspired design, and a unique purple-accented version of the superhero. It sold for $5.2 million to an unnamed Chinese buyer, which made it the most expensive Audemars Piguet ever sold.

Considering the "regular" run of Black Panther APs cost around $160,000, and 250 of them were made, the winning auction bidder paid a staggering 3,250% premium compared to every other buyer for the one-off version. The signature Black Panther figure that forms the focal point of each watch was the work of a single craftsman, who painstakingly carved each figure by hand after the initial texturing was completed with a laser. The figure was then also hand painted by a single painter before being placed into position in what has become Audemars Piguet's priciest watch.

Widely considered to be one of the greatest living watchmakers, Philippe Dufour first launched his own company in 1992, after years spent working for some of the world's most prestigious watchmakers. His Grande & Petite Sonnerie model is among his most collectible products because it was made in extremely limited numbers, and was also the first model produced under his own name. His first-ever watch, bearing movement No. 1, appeared at a Phillips auction in 2021, exceeding its estimate by a considerable margin and selling for 4,749,000 Swiss Francs (around $5.2 million).

Dufour made every piece of the watch in-house, entirely by himself. The process took him close to two years to complete. It stands in stark contrast to the equally expensive "Black Panther" AP, as its design is understated and classic, with a case made from 18-karat yellow gold and a leather strap. The auction was, quite literally, an unrepeatable chance for collectors to get their hands on the first piece by one of watchmaking's modern masters, although evidently, its sky-high hammer price surprised even its consignors.

It's thought that only one Rolex Daytona Cosmograph was ever made in white gold, created upon request for a VIP client, and delivered to a German dealer in 1971. Little other information was known for many years — it was presumed Rolex only ever made the Cosmograph in stainless steel or yellow gold — but it was eventually discovered by a prominent watch collector, John Goldberger, who promptly acquired it for his personal collection. He eventually decided to sell it off in a charity auction, with the lot appearing in a Daytona-themed Phillips sale in 2018.

Dubbed "The Unicorn," the manual winding Cosmograph fetched 5,937,500 Swiss Francs, roughly $6.07 million. The auctioneer expected that it would be the only time the watch would "ever appear in the public sphere in our lifetime," although it's worth noting that there is a very small possibility that another white gold Cosmograph is out there that has yet to make a public reappearance.

One of the most hyped ultra-expensive watch sales in recent years was that of the Tiffany & Co. Patek Philippe Nautilus, which was also sold in a 170-example limited run through a select number of U.S. Tiffany & Co. stores. The auction was the only chance for non-U.S.-based collectors to get their hands on one, although ironically, the winning bidder reportedly hailed from New York.

Watches from the main run retailed for around $52,000, but the auction saw a staggering figure reached by the time bidding had closed. In total, the winner paid $6,503,000, including auction fees. It was, however, all for a good cause — the Nature Conservancy charity received all the funds from the sale, while Patek Philippe and Tiffany & Co. received nothing. Whether that justifies such an extreme premium is still a controversial topic however, as is the decision for the two companies to produce such a limited-run, hyped-up watch in the first place.

Sold at a Christie's auction in 2019, the Patek Philippe Gobbi Milan Heures Universelles was rare for a number of reasons. Firstly, it was one of only seven reference 2523 watches made in pink gold, and only the fifth to ever be put up for auction. It was also completely original and in pristine condition — another box ticked for the most discerning collectors. Finally, it bore the signature of Gobbi, a prestigious watch dealership in Milan that's been run by the same family for over 180 years.

The watch features a "Heures Universelles" system to allow its wearer to see the local time in a variety of places across the world, from Moscow to Mexico. It was originally built in 1953, and hence boasts a variety of period-correct place names, but it took until 1957 for the watch to be sold to the Milanese dealer. Since then, it remained under private ownership, until the 2019 auction saw it fetch 70,175,000 Hong Kong Dollars, roughly $8.98 million at the time.

The Patek Philippe reference 1518 was sold throughout the '40s and '50s, with only 281 examples produced in total. Of those, just 58 were produced with pink gold casing, and it's thought just 14 featured matching pink gold dials. A particularly well-preserved example of those "pink on pink" 1518 models was sold by Sotheby's in 2021, having previously been under the sole ownership of Prince Mohammed Tewfik Adil Toussoun, a former prince of Egypt.

He bought the watch in 1951, just a year before the Egyptian Revolution. It remained under his care throughout his time as an academic in the United States, and was only sold after his passing. It had been very sparingly worn, and in addition to being entirely original came with its original paperwork from the '50s, which was certified by the watchmaker. At auction, it raised a final premium of $9.57 million.

Stainless steel Patek Philippe watches are, in general, extremely rare. Most buyers able to pay the significant premium for the luxury Swiss watch wanted it in gold. In particular, the highly desirable reference 1518 watch is vanishingly difficult to find with a steel casing. It's so rare, in fact, that even the official Patek Philippe watch museum in Geneva doesn't have one. Only four are thought to exist, with the most recent example to come up for auction through Phillips fetching 11,002,000 Swiss Francs.

At the time, that translated to roughly $11.14 million. Helping push its value up even further was its pristine condition and the fact that it's been featured in several prominent pieces of watchmaking literature, including a book by notable collector John Goldberger. It spent most of its life in Hungary, where it was originally purchased, and was the only example of the four known stainless steel 1518 watches that had not previously been auctioned. Evidently, its owner picked exactly the right time to sell.

Paul Newman's own Rolex Daytona set a new auction record when it appeared at Phillips' debut New York auction in 2017, achieving a final price of $17,752,500. Remarkably, its original estimate had been just $1-2 million, but the opening bid from a telephone bidder came in at $10 million. The watch was the first Daytona Newman wore, and was originally a present from his wife Joanne Woodward. She had it engraved with the words, "Drive carefully me," which remained in its original condition at the time of the auction.

Although Newman later wore several other models of Daytona, the auctioned watch was the only one with an "exotic" dial, as well as being his first. It was sold by a former boyfriend of Newman's daughter, to whom the star had gifted it, reportedly when its value was only $200. Some of the proceeds from the record-breaking sale went to charities set up by Newman and his daughter to carry out philanthropic work. It's not known who the winning bidder was, but their purchase made the watch the world's most expensive Rolex ever, as well as being the most expensive wristwatch ever sold at auction at the time.

While wristwatches mostly dominate the list of the most expensive watches, the Patek Philippe Henry Graves Jr. Supercomplication pocket watch was, up until recently, the priciest ever sold. It last appeared at a Sotheby's auction in 2014, selling for 23,237,000 Swiss Francs, roughly $25.41 million. In doing so, it beat its own previous sales record of $11 million, set in 1999.

The watch was commissioned by businessman Henry Graves Jr., who had a friendly rivalry with fellow collector James Ward Packard to see who had the better watch. Patek Philippe was reportedly given a blank check by Graves Jr., and instructed to make the most complex watch it possibly could. With 24 complications, or functions, the watchmaker certainly delivered on that request. It remained the most complex watch ever built until Patek Philippe eventually made an even more advanced piece in 1989, and is still regarded as one of the greatest pieces of watchmaking history today.

Created as a one-off for a Christie's charity auction in 2019, the only stainless steel Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime sold for $31 million to an unknown bidder, making it the most expensive watch ever sold. It featured two dials, one in salmon pink and one in black, making it reversible. It's also one of the most complex wristwatches ever built, with 20 complications. Further cementing this watch's status as an extremely special watch, the pink dial features an inscription reading, "the only one."

Although the case is made of stainless steel, the dials are made of 18K solid gold, with black ebony and rose gold accents across the watch. It sold for over ten times its original estimate, with a hammer price of exactly 31,000,000 Swiss Francs. It's thought that the fact the auction benefitted charity helped raise the asking price to new heights. Even so, it's still a staggering price for this one-of-a-kind Swiss masterpiece.