Human beings are known to have a long history of collecting certain items. Done as a passion or to preserve trophies, the compulsion for making collections goes beyond a person’s financial capabilities and is not limited to specific items.
Simply put, you can create your collection of just anything. It could be cars, accessories, beer cans, or books; the list is endless. Collections can also include plants and animals. The person who invented the scientific naming of plants and animals, naturalist Linnaeus, was a collector of plants and animals.
Watches are also a popular collection item, a rather interesting one especially judging from the exorbitant prices some watches have attracted in auctions. While the Covid-19 pandemic has limited auctions in 2020, the preceding year saw watch-only auctions making new records with some auctions like Sotheby’s recording their highest profits ever ($109 million).
Watches are not only valued as an investment tool, but also for their unique design, scarcity, as well as history. Below is a list of some of the most expensive watches that have been sold at auctions.
Patek Phillipe Grandmaster Chime 6300A-010, $31m, Christie’s, 2019
This watch that was first introduced in the Patek Phillipe brand in 2014, tops the list of the most expensive watch ever sold at auctions. It attracted a price of $31 million at the charity-based Watch Only auction that is based in Geneva.
The complicated watch is made of steel, the only one of its kind from the Patek Phillipe brand, and features a uniquely engraved hobnail center, 3 sub-dials, and Breguet numerals made of pure gold. Its strap is beautiful as well and made of hand-woven alligator leather. What’s more, the watch comes with steel casing and salmon dials with the words “The Only One” engraved on them.
Patek Phillipe Henry Grave Jr. Supercomplication, $24m, Sotheby’s, 2014
Having been made in 1925, this Henry Grave Supercomplication pocket watch made a record sale after a 15-minutes bidding war. This was entirely unexpected as it had been away from the auctions from 1999 where is also recorded a high price of $11m, making it the most expensive auction sale at that time.
This Patek Phillipe brand pocket watch is valued for being one of the most complicated watches to be made without computer-aided technology. Named after an American banker, the watch’s high value was majorly due to its unique features and scarcity. The fact that it was barely used and re-introduced to the auctions 15 years later during the watch maker’s 175 anniversary could also have played a role in the high auction sale.
Paul Newman’s Paul Newman Rolex Daytona, $17m, Phillips, 2017
The Rolex Daytona is a perfect example of the high value attached to celebrity-owned items at auctions. Having been owned and worn by the late Paul Newman, an American actor, the watch attracted the high price after a bidding war that only lasted for 12 minutes, making it one of the most expensive watches to be sold at auction to date.
It started severely after being introduced in the 1930s. It was mass-produced and hardly sold at that time, with the few sales being due to the vast discounts given. However, it started gaining popularity in the 1980s after American and Italian collectors began gaining interest in the watch.
The popularity of this horological piece was majorly due to the old watch making technique used.
Patek Phillipe Steel 1518, $11m, Phillips, 2016
Another product from the Patek Phillipe watch brand, the high auction sale of the stainless-steel 1518 did not surprise many collectors. The watch was a rare kind, being the first perpetual calendar watch to be produced and introduced to the market, which took place in the 1930s.
Apart from this watch’s unique feature, the high value attached to it was given more weight by its scarcity in the market. After being introduced in the market back in the 1930s, less than 300 of this valuable piece were produced over a period of 13 years. Additionally, only 4 of all the fake watches were made of still.
The stainless-steel 1518 watch’s uniqueness and scarcity served to increase its interest to collectors and was responsible for its high auction sale.
Patek Phillipe Stainless Steel Ref 5016A-010, $7.3m, Phillips, 2015
This was another one from the Patek Philippe brand that gained increasing popularity after being produced for the first time. However, its value increased significantly after 2011 when its production stopped, thereby making it highly valued among collectors.
The lovable thing about this watch is its unique design, which incorporates three different features. These are the perpetual calendar, minute repeater function, as well as the tourbillon, a rare mechanism at the top of the watch that serves to enable the watch’s accuracy with time.
Rolex Daytona Unicorn Ref 6265, $5.9m, Phillips, 2018
This is a highly valuable watch, almost similar to Paul Newman’s Paul Newman Rolex watch but with a slight difference in features. Having been manufactured in 1970 and subsequently nicknamed “Unicorn,” the watch’s features were rarely found in other watches, a fact responsible for its high value.
The watched found its way to the auction from the privately-owned John Goldberger collection that belonged to AuroMontanari. Despite the Italian collector vowing not to sell the watch, it eventually found its way to the auctions in support of the Children Action and went on to attract one of the highest prices.
Conclusion
The above five watches are popularly known all over the globe for the high prices they attracted at different auctions. While the sales took place in different years, the list is arranged starting from the most expensive to the least expensive watch. Please note that several factors played role in the high prices. However, most cases had to do with the uniqueness of the item as well as its scarcity. These two combinations will give collectors a run for their money.
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