List of most expensive watches sold at auction
This list of most expensive watches sold at auction documents the watches sold at auction worldwide for at least 1.5 million US dollars. The final price listed includes the buyer's premium paid to the auction houses, and has been converted to US dollars, if needed, according to the currency exchange rate at the time of auction. Inflation-adjusted prices are also listed for reference. If a watch has been sold at auction for several times, only the highest final price is included. Finally, any auctioned watch without public online records from auctioneers will not be included in the ranking.
As of December 2019, the most expensive watch ever sold at auction is the Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime Ref. 6300A-010, fetching US$31.19 million in Geneva on November 9, 2019. The most expensive pocket watch ever sold at auction is the Patek Philippe Henry Graves Supercomplication, fetching US$23.98 million in Geneva on November 11, 2014.
As of December 2019, at least 68 watches have been sold at auction for over two million US dollars, and at least 108 watches have been sold at auction for over 1.5 million US dollars. Among the top 10 of these watches, 7 are Patek Philippe watches and 3 are Rolex watches.
Summary (as of December 2019)
Auction records
- Worldwide: The most expensive watch ever sold at auction worldwide is the Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime Ref. 6300A-010, which fetched 31.19 million US dollars in Geneva on November 9, 2019.
- Asia: The most expensive watch ever sold at auction in Asia is the Patek Philipe Gobbi Milan Double Signed "Heures Universelles" Ref. 2523, which fetched 8.967 million US dollars in Hong Kong on November 23, 2019.
- Europe: The most expensive watch ever sold at auction in Europe is the Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime Ref. 6300A-010, which fetched 31.19 million US dollars in Geneva on November 9, 2019.
- North America: The most expensive watch ever sold at auction in North America is the Paul Newman's Rolex Daytona, which fetched 17.75 million US dollars in New York on October 26, 2017.
Auction houses
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| Ranking range | Christie's | Phillips | Sotheby's | Antiquorum | Poly Auction |
| 1st – 68th | 30 | 21 | 8 | 8 | 1 |
The following table has a threshold of 1.5 million US dollars.
| Ranking range | Christie's | Phillips | Antiquorum | Sotheby's | Poly Auction |
| 1st – 108th | 43 | 34 | 17 | 13 | 1 |
Manufacturers
The following table shows the brand breakdown of the most expensive watches ever sold at auction. As of December 2019, there are 7 manufacturers that have manufactured watches sold at auction for at least two million US dollars: Patek Philippe, Rolex, Breguet, George Daniels, Urwerk, Vacheron Constantin, Jehan Cremsdorff. In particular, George Daniels and Jehan Cremsdorff were independent watchmakers.| Ranking range | Patek Philippe | Rolex | Breguet | George Daniels | Urwerk | Vacheron Constantin | Jehan Cremsdorff |
| 1st – 10th | 7 | 3 | |||||
| 1st – 68th | 52 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
The following table has a threshold of 1.5 million US dollars. Four additional manufacturers join: Richard Mille, Omega, Chopard and F. P. Journe.
| Ranking range | Patek Philippe | Rolex | Breguet | Vacheron Constantin | George Daniels |
| 1st – 108th | 79 | 14 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Ranked list (as of December 2019)
Top 68
The following table contains details of the 68 watches auctioned for at least two million US dollars, ranked according to their original auction prices. The inflation-adjusted price is given by consumer price index inflation-adjusted value of United States dollars in 2019.69th–108th
The following table contains details of the watches auctioned for close to two million US dollars, ranked according to their original auction prices. The threshold is 1.5 million US dollars. The inflation-adjusted price is given by consumer price index inflation-adjusted value of United States dollars in 2019.Temporary list (January - July 2020)
The following table contains details of the latest auction results from January to July, 2020. The information is updated to the main list every half a year.| Rank | Manufacturer | Watch model | Style | Original price | Adjusted price | Auction Date | Auction Place | Auction House | Ref. | |
| 1 | Patek Philippe | Jean-Claude Biver Pink Gold Ref. 1518 | 1948 | Wrist | 3.567 | 06/27/2020 | Geneva | Phillips | ||
| 2 | Rolex | Rolex Daytona Lapis Lazuli Platinum Ref. 16516 | 1999 | Wrist | 3.27 | 07/12/2020 | Hong Kong | Sotheby's | ||
| 3 | Patek Philippe | Jean-Claude Biver Yellow Gold Ref. 2499 | 1957 | Wrist | 2.743 | 06/28/2020 | Geneva | Phillips | ||
| 4 | Patek Philippe | Jean-Claude Biver Spider Lugs Stainless Steel Ref. 1579 | 1946 | Wrist | 2.047 | 06/28/2020 | Geneva | Phillips | ||
| 5 | Breguet | King George III Recordon, London, Gold Four Minute Tourbillon No. 1297 | 1808 | 1.979 | 07/14/2020 | London | Sotheby's | |||
| 6 | Patek Philippe | Titanium Cathedral Minute Repeating Annual Calendar Ref. 5033 | 2003 | Wrist | 1.951 | 07/13/2020 | Hong Kong | Christie's | ||
| 7 | Rolex | Paul Newman Daytona John Player Special Ref. 6264 | 1969 | Wrist | 1.545 | 07/31/2020 | London | Sotheby's |
Unranked results
The following table contains some of the most expensive auctioned watches without public online records from auctioneers. This list is possibly incomplete.| Rank | Manufacturer | Watch model | Style | Original price | Adjusted price | Auction Date | Auction Place | Remarks | |
| - | Patek Philippe | Titanium Ref. 5524T | 2018 | Wrist | 2.33 | 10/15/2018 | Geneva | Children Action 2018 Auction |