The prices of these watches you're about to see will leave you in shock. Yeah I was quite shocked myself after I got to know the prices of these exquisite but simple watches.
Throwing down a wad of cash on a luxury timepiece is one of the greatest indulgences a modern man can enjoy. Here we are presenting the most valuable watches in the whole wide world.
As a matter of fact we've left out all the pricey models that are caked in bazillions of diamonds. Because that doesn't really count, does it? Stay glued to find out.
Here is a list and pictures from the lowest to the most expensive of them all:
Chopard L.U.C All-in-One 'Janus Watch' - £374,000
Chopard is known as one of the greats – and with good reasons. After
winning watch of the year for their ‘L.U.C Full Strike’ at the 2017
Geneva Watchmaking Grand Prix, they’re back with a familiar (yet no less
exciting) watch for 2018.
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.
Maitres Du Temps Chapter One Round Transparence - £404,000
At a wallet-demolishing £404,000, it stands out as a much sought-after
tribute to the industry's fascinating past and exciting future.
A mish-mash of idiosyncratic design philosophies 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).
Supremos Maîtres du Temps are famous for bringing together some of the most exceptional watchmakers in the world to collaborate on game-changing models.
Christophe Claret DualTow Night Eagle – £445,000
Limited to 68 pieces, the 'Night Eagle' is a modified version of the
earlier 'DualTow' concept. The time is told on two revolving belts, and
the movement offers a chronograph with a special planetary gear system.
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.
George Daniel Co-Axial Chronograph - £463,000
George 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.)
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. It was revolutionary for a number of techy reasons, but most importantly it allowed for longer times between servicing.
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?
Bulgari Magsonic Sonnerie Tourbillon watch – £464,000
At £464,000, it'll make just as much impact on your wrist as it will on your life-savings.
When Italian jewelry monolith Bulgari purchased Swiss watch brand Gerald Genta, the most celebrated (and money-spinning) result was this: the 'Magsonic Sonnerie Tourbillon.'
It's loud-and-proud, contains enough ultra complicated function for the
proper 'heads' amongt us, and is packed with an array of chimes that
have been enhanced by a special "magsonic" alloy.
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Grande Complication - £741,600
The fiddly insides are all hand-finished, cut-out and beadblasted 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.
Audemars have previous when it comes to
crafting head-spinning cocktails of complications (shop-talk for
'features') – in fact, they've probably been doing it longer than any
existing watch manufacturer.
The titanium model will set you back over 700k, but can you really put a price on style?
And yes you can stare a little longer.
Ulysse Nardin Hannibal Minute Repeater Tourbillon - £571,000
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
Franck Muller Aeternitas Mega 4 - £1.8 million
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.
With 36 different complications, 1,483 individual components, a
1,000-year calendar and a wealth of other eclectic features, the 'Frank
Muller Aeternitas' will leave you more scared and confused than a
Labour MP trying to take roll call.
Patek Philippe 5004T - £2.98 million
It sold at £2,985,000 in a hotly contested auction, and has been lusted after by longing wrists ever since.
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 colorful look than its
more conservative family members. Think of it as the Fresh Prince to the
'5004's Carlton.
LOUIS MOINET METEORIS COLLECTION - £3.5 million
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.
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.
Paul Newman Rolex Daytona - £13.5,000,000
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 £13.5,000,000 — the
equivalent of 9,030 2017 Rolex Daytonas.
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.
Breguet Grande Complication Marie-Antoinette - £25 million
So you've found a spare 25 mill nestled in the pocket of some
forgotten skinnies, and now you're torn on how to spend it? Don't worry:
we've all been there brother.
You
could do a lot worse than splash it on the 'Breguet Grande Complication
Marie-Antoinette' – officially and easily the priciest watch in the
world.
Commissioned by a mysterious lover of former French
queen and cake advocate Marie-Antoinette, work began on the pocket watch
(yeah, we're going off-piste, but just look at it) in 1782. Legendary horologist Abraham-Louis Breguet started the project, before his son finished the job in 1827.
Encased
in gold, the glass showcases the intricate mechanism inside, based on
the most revolutionary technologies of the time. Only the best for
queeny.
Problem is, they probably spent a little too long fussing
over it. As luck would have it, Mary-Antoinette was guillotined 34 years
before the watch even saw light of day or the inside of a pocket.
The
watch was then stolen in the late 1900s from a museum in Jerusalem, and
only re-emerged in 2007. It's now locked away in the L.A Mayer museum,
waiting for you to march in with a suitcase full of fifties.
