Tobias Sylvester
A Patek Philippe wristwatch was sold for $31 million at a charity auction in Geneva, making it the most expensive wristwatch ever auctioned.
The sale tops a previous record set in 2017 for a Rolex Daytona once owned by Hollywood star Paul Newman, which was sold for $17.7 million.
The Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime, one of the most complex timepieces ever crafted, fetched $31 million at a Christie’s charity auction in Geneva on Saturday evening.
Sabine Kegel, the head of Christie’s watch department in Geneva, said the watch “does nearly everything except making coffee.”
According to Kegel, the watch features a patented reversible case which can be turned to show two dials, one in rose gold, the other in black ebony.
The watch is loaded with four spring barrels to create 20 complications, in watchmaking, this is any function that exists in addition to telling time and has five chiming modes.
Two chimes are patented world firsts: an acoustic alarm which sounds at a preset time and a date repeater which can sound the date whenever the wearer wishes.
The bidding started at 5 million CHF (approximately $5 million) and by the time it was over, a new world record of CHF31,000,000 (approx. $31 million) had been set for the highest price paid for any watch sold at auction, ever.
All of the money raised from the sale of the world record watch is going to charity.
