Top 10 Most Expensive Watch Brands In The World
If you have ever considered time to be priceless, you might be surprised at how much some of the most expensive timepieces sell for these days. Some people with extra money in the bank look beyond the basic twenty-dollar watch found at every department store and go for something with a little more pizzazz. These ten high-end companies are a handful offering the latest in design, originality, innovation and extravagant price tags.
Patek Philippe
Patek Philippe, a Swiss manufacturer, is considered by experts as one of the most esteemed brands in the world. Launched in 1851 by partners, Antoni Patek and Adrien Philippe, the company is known for creating its own watch parts to maintain brand integrity. One of the most expensive in the collection, the 1933 Henry Graves Supercomplication, was owned by banker, Henry Graves Jr., and was auctioned posthumously for US$24 million in 2014. In 2015, the stainless steel 5016A sold for US$7.3 million at an auction benefitting Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.
Chopard
The family-run Swiss watch maker, Chopard, was founded by Louis-Ulysse Chopard in 1860. The company was then passed down to his son, Paul Louis Chopard in 1921, and grandson, Paul Andre Chopard, in 1943. Chopard has nine models in its series for both men and women, ranging in price from $5,000 to $20,000. It has since kept the signature multi-diamond-encrusted face of many of its women’s timepieces and has expanded to include a line of jewelry.
Piaget
Named the sixth most prestigious jewelry brand in 2008 by the Luxury Institute, Piaget was founded in 1874 by Georges Piaget. The company holds various Watch of the Year awards from 2000 and 2007 and the Most Beautiful Watch of 2006 award for its Limelight Party watch. The unique Emperador Temple is worth upwards of $3.3 million. It is a two-in-one watch, with the first watch, a diamond-covered face opening to uncover the second watch underneath, adorned with mother-of-pearl and more diamonds.
Vacheron Constantin
Founded in 1755 by Jean-Marc Vacheron, this Swiss watchmaker is credited with inventing the first engine-turned dials nine years after producing its first complication, a watch consisting of features such as alarms and date displays. The collection of ten includes the world’s thinnest, the Altiplano 900P, measuring 3.65 millimeters and was valued at $20,000 to $30,000 when it came out in 2014. The company is a pioneer of the thin-watch movement, which began in the late 1950s.
Audemars Piguet
The Switzerland-based Audemars Piguet company was established in 1875 by Jules-Louis Audemars and Edward-Auguste Piguet. The company’s most significant early invention was the creation of the first leap year-enabled perpetual calendar watch in 1955. In 1978, the first 3.95 millimeter was produced, making it the world’s thinnest perpetual calendar watch in the world at the time. Prices of watches in the collection start at $12,000, and climb to a men’s watch, the Royal Oak, valued at more than one million dollars.
Jaeger-LeCoultre
Jaeger-LeCoultre is a Swiss manufacturer founded by Antoine LeCoultre in 1833. The company’s ingenuity makes it a leader in the timepiece business. Jaeger-LeCoultre created an early mechanical wristwatch with almost perpetual movement, the world’s smallest calibre, and one of the most complex watches in the world. The most expensive wristwatch in the Jaeger-LeCoultre collection, a family of nine models, is Hybris Grande Sonerie, listed at $2.5 million, but above that is the Joaillerie 101 Manchette, quoted as “priceless”.
Blancpain
Founder Jehan-Jacques Blancpain is a pioneer watchmaker from Villeret, Switzerland, who is credited for establishing the world’s oldest watchmaking company. He passed his artistry onto his grandson, Frederic-Louis Blancpain, who, in 1815, introduced the new cylinder escapement, replacing the aging crown-wheel mechanism. The Specialties Tourbillon Diamonds ladies’ watch is priced at more than $1.3 million, and is surrounded by twenty carats worth of diamonds.
Cartier
French watch and jewelry manufacturer, Cartier, was launched in 1847 in Paris, France, by Louis-Francois Cartier. As a family-run business until 1964, the brand established branches in London, New York and St. Petersburg, until it became a subsidiary of the Compagnie Financiere Richemont SA. Esteemed celebrity, Kate Middleton, has been spotted sporting the Cartier Ballon Bleu, valued at $5,650, and King Edward VII is quoted defining Cartier as “The jeweler of kings and the king of jewellers.”
Ulysse Nardin
Ulysse Nardin, Swiss manufacturer of luxury wristwatches, has been producing high-priced timepieces for 170 years. Established in 1846 by Ulysse Nardin, the company was best known early on for its marine chronometers. They were used through the mid-1800s by navy marines in more than fifty countries. The past decades have seen advancements in the opposite arena with the solar-themed Trilogy of Time. The brand’s full collection is as varied as its prices, which range from $5,000 to $8,000.
Rolex
Ranked as the largest luxury watch brand, Rolex was first founded in London, England in 1905 by Hans Wilsdorf and Alfred Davis, but by 1919 moved to Switzerland. In 2016, Forbes ranked the company its sixty-forth of the world’s most powerful brands. By focusing on three lines, Oyster Perpetual, Professional and Cellini, Rolex produces about 2,000 watches per year. The prices among models vary from $650 to $75,000, but the most expensive piece, the GMT Ice, is listed at about $485,350.