The highest price ever paid for a watch at auction was $31.1 million, for a one- of-a-kind Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime Ref. 6300A-010, made by Patek Philippe for the 2019 Only Watch charity auction for research into Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. The previous record for a watch sold at auction was CHF 23,237,000 (US$24,753,200) for the Patek Philippe Henry Graves Supercomplication, a pocket watch with 24 complications made in 1933 and sold by Sotheby’s in 2014. Paul Newman’s Rolex Daytona takes third place in terms
of top dollar paid for a watch at auction, raking in $17.7 million at a 2017 Phillips auction, but after that, it’s another Patek Philippe, a rare Ref. 1518 perpetual calendar chronograph, which sold for $11 million. Aside from these blockbusters, Patek Philippe dominates the watch auction market every year, with sale after sale of sought-after references selling for seven- or eight-figure sums. What accounts for this special status? Part of it has to do with consistency. Patek Philippe has essentially been run by only two families over the last 179
years. Patek Philippe was founded in 1839 by Antoine Norbert de Patek, who was joined in 1845 by Jean Adrien Philippe. It was acquired by brothers Jean and Charles Henri Stern in 1932 and is still owned by the Stern family. The Sterns were top dial makers for Patek Philippe at the time and one of the few companies in the industry with the means to make such an acquisition. They wisely maintained the level of excellence established by the founders, focusing on luxury watches finished by hand in small series, a policy in effect to this day.
The double-signed “Asprey” Patek Philippe Ref. 2499 perpetual calendar chronograph, sold by Sotheby’s for $3,915,000.
The world’s most expensive watch, a one-of-a-kind Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime Ref. 6300A-010, which sold for $31 million in 2019 at the Only Watch charity auction.
The current president, Thierry Stern, maintains the company’s century-old policy of keeping meticulous archives, creating all movements in-house, and maintaining the standard of excellence and leading-edge innovation that has made the brand famous. Patek Philippe was the first watch company to create a perpetual calendar chronograph wristwatch, the Ref. 1518, introduced in 1941. It wasn’t until nearly 20 years later that another brand introduced one: Audemars Piguet in 1958, followed by IWC in 1985. The design of the 1518 was so pivotal, it set the
architecture for the brand, with its twin apertures at 12 o’clock, two chronograph registers at 3 and 9, and the circular date display with moonphase at 6 o’clock. Today’s Ref. 5270 in the current collection is the same basic design. It was so ahead of its time that it’s still relevant today. Sought-after modern models include almost any version of the sporty Nautilus, a watch originally introduced in 1976 and coveted for its distinctive design at the hands of famous watch designer Gerald Genta. Today, Nautiluses that would have retailed for approximately $3,500
when they were introduced in the 1970s regularly sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars. The current model Ref. 5740 Nautilus perpetual calendar, introduced two years ago at a retail price of about $90,000, is already selling on the secondary market for nearly triple that amount. Although owning a Patek Philippe has proven to be a great investment, there is more to owning one than its commercial value. Wearing a watch of that level of prestige and excellence is, in itself, a reward, and that can include even “ordinary” pieces from the current collection.
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