Luxury watches: The TOP-5 most expensive watches in the world

Unknown watch manufacturers — priceless timepieces

Almost everyone is familiar with the terms “haute coutur” and “haute cuisine.” But have you ever heard of”Haute Horlogerie“Heard? The French term for the fine art of watchmaking was first coined in the 1970s to differentiate Swiss handwork from inexpensive quartz watches from Japan. There is no exact definition of watches called haute horlogerie. But these luxury watches have one thing in common: they are awarded astronomical prizes — because craftsmanship of the highest quality comes at a price.

For example, special models from Audemars Piguet, Patek Philippe, Rolex or Jaeger LeCoultre often cost five-digit amounts. But it is even more expensive: For Luxury watches from Haute Horlogerie Manufactories Like Jacob & Co., Richard Mille, Ulysse Nardin, Vacheron Constantin, Breguet, Chopard and Graff Diamonds, collectors have to put tens of millions of dollars on the table.

In addition to elegance and particularly high quality, the fine pieces are characterized above all by the use of valuable materials (gold, platinum, diamonds) and so-called complications, i.e. additional functions.

This includes, for example, a perpetual calendar that knows leap years. Moon phases, zodiac signs, star charts or small sunseries that can ring the time or date with different sounds. Everything can be produced and controlled by hand using a purely mechanical interior, which quickly consists of a few hundred individual parts. The term “Grande Complication” is therefore often understood to mean the flagship of a watch manufacturer — a masterpiece that can fetch high prices at auctions and is therefore also a sought-after investment object for a very well-heeled clientele.

Prominent or noble previous owners and special stories can also play an important role in the price development of a luxury watch. For example, the Rolex Cosmograph Daytona, which Paul Newman received as a gift from his wife Joanne Woodward, is considered a holy grail watch among collectors and fans of the actor. It has the message “Drive Carefully. Me.” engraved in reference to Paul Newman's love of racing, had disappeared for years and only reappeared in 2016. In 2017, the Paul Newman Rolex was auctioned off and, with a price of 17.7 million dollars, is now ninth in the Ranking of the most expensive watches in the world. But that is far from being the end of the line...

The top 5 watch models

The ten most expensive watches in the world have a total value of an incredible 281.5 million dollars. Let us introduce you to the latest top 5 luxury watches in more detail:

1st place: Graff Diamonds Hallucination: 55 million dollars

The presented in 2014 masterpiece ofthe British jewelers consists of over 110 carats of coloured (fancy) diamonds set in a platinum bracelet. The very small dial of the quartz watch (!), made of pink diamonds It almost disappears visually in the numerous, coloured stones.

2nd place: Graff Diamonds The Fascination: 40 million dollars

Just one year later, Graff Diamonds presented The Fascination at Baselworld.

Made from clear 152.96 carat diamonds, the watch is unique and transformable. The central 38.13 carat diamond in the shape of a pear can be removed from the center and inserted into a ring.

3rd place: Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime Ref. 6300A-010:31 million dollars

The Grandmaster Chime made of steel is the most complicated Patek Philippe wristwatch ever built with twenty complications, a reversible case, two separate dials and six patented innovations. Its development, production and assembly required an incredible 100,000 working hours and explains the high auction price: The Patek Philippe sold at a Christie's auction in 2019 for 31 million dollars, making it the most expensive watch ever auctioned off.

4th place: Breguet Marie-Antoinette Grande Complication: $30 million

There are many stories and rumours surrounding this historic pocket watch of the highest level of watchmaking sophistication. A lover of French Queen Marie-Antoinette is said to have commissioned the pocket watch in 1782. However, the gift was only completed after the queen died. After that, the Grande Complication was passed from collector to collector, was a museum piece for a long time, then lost, and only reappeared in 2007.

5th place: Jaeger-LeCoultre Joaillerie 101 Manchette: 26 million dollars

At first glance, the watch, which was supposedly given to Queen Elizabeth II for her 60th anniversary, looks more like a wide silver bracelet. It consists of many individual squares decorated with almost 600 diamonds and is considered the smallest mechanical watch in the world.

Luxury watches with attractive increases in value

Luxury watches for the price of a large private jet are of course only affordable for a few super-rich people. But there are also beautiful timepieces with steady increases in value for “cheaper” watches. Models from well-known brands such as Rolex or Patek Philippe, for example, have been relatively scarce on the secondary market for years and are therefore expensive — with significant price jumps in the double-digit range, particularly in recent years.

The Subdial50 index, which shows the global market prices for the 50 most traded luxury watches in terms of value, shows, for example, that a Rolex Datejust 41 with a black dial has risen in value by over 30 percent in the past twelve months. The Patek Philippe Nautilus Reference: 5712/1A-001 even won over 40 percent in the same period. Although these two examples are upward outliers, the The market of the top 5 luxury watch manufacturers has grown by around 106% over the past five years.

However, before you go straight in search of a suitable investment watch, you should note that with watches — as with many other collectibles — the following applies: Only a small part of the timepieces is actually suitable as a financial investment in the broad sense. Most watches are more likely to lose value over time — experts estimate that no price increases are to be expected for around 80 percent of all luxury watches.

In general, there are factors that have a decisive impact on value development: precision in manufacturing, the high quality of the materials used, watchmaking finesse, brand image and the relationship between supply and demand.

In order to be able to comprehensively assess the appreciation potential of a watch, investors therefore need appropriate expertise or professional advice. But even in the case of a successful purchase, fine watches are generally rather long-term assets that — if you own them yourself — require professional storage, maintenance and possible repairs.

Specialized platforms, on the other hand, offer an excellent opportunity to familiarise yourself with the fascinating world of luxury watches and at the same time profit from their value development like an owner. Here, investors can purchase a diversified portfolio of tangible assets of coveted collectibles that are usually difficult for private individuals to access, such as Rolex GMT II - Batman & Batgirl put together.