Watches can be costly for many reasons. Rarity can add value. Celebrity connection can add value. Materials used in construction can add value. The circumstances in which a watch has been used can add value. 

Of course, some of the world’s wealthiest people live very private lives. Knowledge of the value of the timepieces they commission remains very much at the discretion of their manufacturers and the best watch makers are very discreet. So, in that context, we are pleased to inform you about some of the most expensive watches in the world. 

In 2013, Patek Philippe produced a one-off titanium version of its 5004 collection. There was just one watch, produced specifically for a charity auction. It sold for £2,985,000. Strangely, for a watch of this price, it was one of Patek’s sportier models, not one its luxurious Complications. 

The Louis Moinet Meteoris Collection consists of four watches presented on a mechanical representation of the solar system. The four watches, all tourbillons, are called The Mars, The Rosetta Stone, The Asteroid and The Moon. Each one features a piece of an asteroid. The set is valued at £4.5million. 

Paul Newman’s Rolex Daytona was, famously, sold at auction for £15.5million last year but that is not the most expensive of watches associated with someone famous. A pocket watch commissioned for Marie Antoinette by a lover took so long to make, 45 years, that it had to be finished by the son of the man who began its construction. Indeed, it took so long to make that it was not finished until 1827, 34 years after the French Queen met her death by guillotine. The watch featured every complication invented at the time including a minute repeater, chime, perpetual calendar, thermometer, power reserve, shock absorber, chronograph and independent seconds hand. It is now in the L.A. Mayer Institute for Islamic Art in Jerusalem and is valued at £22.2million. 

To carry off the wearing of the Graff Diamonds Hallucination would take some chutzpah. And a heavy team of close protection operatives. It has more than 110 carats of coloured diamonds set in a platinum bracelet. It is not subtle and is valued at £40million. 

Graff’s Hallucination makes Chopard’s 201 Carat watch look excellent value. It features nearly twice as many carats including a 15 carat pink diamond, a 12 carat blue diamond, and an 11 carat white diamond. And it is valued at a mere £18.5million.