On Saturday the 7th of November a one of a kind stainless steel Patek Philippe sold for $7.26 million. This super-high price makes it the most expensive wristwatch of all time to be sold publicly. This topped the previous most expensive wristwatch which was Patek Philppe’s own Reference 1527 Perpetual Calendar which sold for $5.71 million at auction.
The sale was made at the Only Watch charity auction in Geneva which is held event is held every year in order to raise money for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. Collectors turn up in their droves to try and pick up one of the many unique watches donated by different luxury brands. This year Patek Philippe stole the show with an incredible watch!
The Most Expensive Wristwatch Of All Time
The Patek Philippe watch donated to the One Watch charity auction was the Patek Philippe reference 5016A-010, 5016A-010. This one of a kind grande complication included a tourbillon, minute repeater and retrograde perpetual calendar.
It isn’t just what the watch does which is so incredible – it’s also the impeccable aesthetics of the device. The strap and watch face are an eye-pleasing rich blue – and the watch is held inside a quality stainless steel case.
There is no doubt that this watch would be a dream catch for any watch collectors able to afford it. The original estimate for the watch was around $700,000 – $900,000 which was nowhere near the final price paid for the watch! The final price paid was also almost double the previous most expensive wristwatch.
Patek Phileppe also hold the record for the most expensive pocketwatch sold publicly with an incredible solid gold timepiece which sold for $24.4 million!
A one-of-a-kind Tudor Black Bay One also fetched over 10 times its original estimate of $3,500 which an incredible $375,000. Despite a practically identical watch being available from Tudor for $3,100 it still fetched this incredibly high price. The fact that it was a one-of-a-kind watch which can never be found anywhere else is the only reason it fetched such a high price. This proves that scarcity is still a huge attraction for people willing to spend big money on a watch.
The final amount raised by Only Watch 2015 was $11,204,696 from 44 unique watches and clocks which will go to support research into Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.
What Can You Get For The Same Price as This Watch
Here are a few things you could buy for the same price as the most expensive wristwatch of all time.
- 48,400,000 10 pence mix ups
- 24,200 XBox One’s
- 16,134 Apple Watches
- 8,951 Apple iPhone 6S’ 16 Gig
- 2,412 season tickets for Arsenal
- 313 round the world cruises
- Almost half of one Alan Shearer in 1997
Crazy money! Would you spend so much on a watch (if you could afford it) let us know in the comments!
Images: Only Watch, Andrew Tryon
