The most expensive Patek Philippe ever sold is the stainless steel Grandmaster Chime 6300A-010, which made 31 million Swiss francs (about $31 million) at Christie’s in Geneva in November 2019. The most expensive Patek wristwatch sold in a regular, for-profit sale is a steel Ref. 1518 that made about $17.6 million in November 2025. This list ranks ten of the highest prices paid for Patek watches at auction, as of October 2026.
| Rank | Watch | Price (USD) | Sale date | Sold at |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime 6300A-010 “Only Watch” | $31 million | Nov 2019 | Christie’s, Geneva |
| 2 | Henry Graves Supercomplication | $24 million | Nov 2014 | Sotheby’s, Geneva |
| 3 | Ref. 1518 in stainless steel | $17.6 million | Nov 2025 | Phillips, Geneva |
| 4 | Ref. 2499 First Series “The Pink First Series” | $10.26 million | May 2026 | Phillips, Hong Kong |
| 5 | Ref. 2523 “South America” world time | $10.25 million | May 2026 | Phillips, Geneva |
| 6 | Nautilus 5711/1A-018 Tiffany Blue | $6.5 million | Dec 2021 | Phillips, New York |
| 7 | Ref. 6002G Sky Moon Tourbillon | $5.8 million | Mar 2023 | Christie’s, Hong Kong (online) |
| 8 | Ref. 5004G-020, made for Eric Clapton | $5.2 million | Jun 2026 | Phillips, New York |
| 9 | Ref. 3448 Padellone “Tokyo White” | $1.7 million | May 2026 | Phillips, Hong Kong |
1. Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime 6300A-010 “Only Watch”: $31 million
This is the one-off stainless steel Grandmaster Chime, built for the Only Watch charity auction that funds Duchenne muscular dystrophy research. It carries 20 complications, which makes it the most complicated wristwatch Patek Philippe has made, and it is the only Grandmaster Chime cased in steel. The hammer fell on 9 November 2019 at 31 million Swiss francs, against a pre-sale estimate reportedly around $2.5 to $3 million. That is roughly ten times the guess.
The buyer stayed anonymous. Charity lots attract a different kind of bidder: people who want the best piece in the room and get to feel good about overpaying.
The price is the final result with fees in Swiss francs, converted at the 2019 rate, and it came from a charity sale rather than a normal consignment.
2. Henry Graves Supercomplication: $24 million
The only pocket watch in the top ten, and the oldest piece on it. Banker Henry Graves Jr. commissioned it from Patek Philippe in 1925 and paid 60,000 Swiss francs. It was finished in 1932, delivered in January 1933, and packs 24 functions.
Sotheby’s sold it in 1999 for $11 million, and it came back on 11 November 2014 and fetched 23.2 million Swiss francs, about $24 million, to a bidder who stayed anonymous. For two years it held the record for any timepiece at auction.
Our figure is the 2014 total with buyer’s premium, converted to dollars at the rate of that week.
3. Ref. 1518 in stainless steel: $17.6 million
Patek made 281 examples of the Ref. 1518, the first serially produced perpetual calendar chronograph wristwatch, between 1941 and 1954. Almost all are yellow gold, about 55 are rose gold, and just four are steel. A steel 1518 on the market is a once-in-a-decade event.
On the evening of 9 November 2025 one went for 14.19 million Swiss francs, roughly $17.6 million, at Phillips in Geneva. It is the highest price ever paid for a Patek wristwatch at a for-profit auction. Reports describe it as the same steel 1518 that set the wristwatch record in November 2016 at 11,002,000 Swiss francs (about $11.1 million), so the watch gained roughly 60 percent in nine years. The same Geneva week set a record watch-sale total of about $83 million for Phillips.
The figure is the Swiss franc result with fees, converted at about 1.24 dollars to the franc.
4. Ref. 2499 First Series “The Pink First Series”: $10.26 million
Ref. 2499 is the perpetual calendar chronograph that followed the 1518, and the First Series, made around 1951, is its rarest form. Only four pink gold First Series watches with the Vichet case are known, and this one is the only example with British hallmarks.
At Phillips Hong Kong Watch Auction XXII, at the end of May 2026, it made HK$80.37 million, about $10.26 million. That set a new auction record for the 2499 and made it the most valuable timepiece ever sold at auction in Asia. The sale as a whole totalled about $51.5 million, up 90 percent on the year before.
The number is the Hong Kong dollar result with fees, converted to dollars.
5. Ref. 2523 “South America” world time: $10.25 million
This mid-20th-century yellow gold, two-crown world timer has a polychrome cloisonne enamel dial with a map of South America. Only two examples are known, and this one had appeared at public auction just once before, in 1988.
It sold on 9 May 2026 at Geneva Watch Auction XXIII for 7,961,000 Swiss francs, about $10.25 million, more than twice its high estimate. The final stretch was a duel between telephone bidders and one person in the room, and the room won. The sale set 43 world records and passed $96 million in total.
We used Phillips’ own Swiss franc result with fees and its dollar conversion.
6. Nautilus 5711/1A-018 Tiffany Blue: $6.5 million
This is a steel Nautilus with a Tiffany blue dial, one of 170 made to mark 170 years between Patek Philippe and Tiffany & Co. It cost about $52,600 new. The final price topped $6.5 million, around 124 times retail, with the proceeds going to The Nature Conservancy.
Hype can park a modern steel watch next to museum pieces.
We took the reported final price with fees from the New York sale of December 2021.
7. Ref. 6002G Sky Moon Tourbillon: $5.8 million
A 42 mm white gold watch with 12 complications, including a cathedral minute repeater, perpetual calendar, sidereal time, a sky chart and moon phases, all under a blue champleve and cloisonne enamel dial. On 20 March 2023 it sold in Christie’s online Top of the Time sale for $5.8 million, then the most expensive watch ever sold in an online auction.
This is the reported final price with fees from the online result.
8. Ref. 5004G-020, made for Eric Clapton: $5.2 million
A 2008 white gold split-seconds perpetual calendar chronograph with a rose dial and Breguet numerals, possibly unique, and known to have been made for the guitarist Eric Clapton. The estimate was $700,000 to $1.4 million. It made about $5.2 million at The New York Watch Auction XIV in June 2026, roughly seven times the low estimate, and set a record for the reference.
A famous first owner is worth a lot of zeros on a modern watch.
We used the Phillips lot result of $5,202,000.
9. Ref. 3448 Padellone “Tokyo White”: $1.7 million
The Ref. 3448 was Patek’s first automatic perpetual calendar wristwatch, and collectors call the large early cases “Padellone”, Italian for big frying pan. This example, double signed by the Tokyo retailer Beyer Chronometrie, made HK$13.7 million (about $1.7 million) at Phillips Hong Kong in May 2026. Plenty of other Patek lots reach seven figures, so tenth place is a crowded spot.
We used the Hong Kong dollar result with fees, converted to dollars.
Records set in 2025 and 2026
- November 2025: a stainless steel Ref. 1518 sold for CHF 14.19 million (about $17.6 million) at Phillips in Geneva, the highest price ever paid for a Patek wristwatch at a for-profit auction.
- May 2026, Geneva: the Ref. 2523 “South America” made about $10.25 million and set a record for the reference.
- May 2026, Hong Kong: the pink gold Ref. 2499 First Series made about $10.26 million, a record for the 2499 and for any watch sold at auction in Asia.
- June 2026: the Clapton Ref. 5004G-020 made about $5.2 million, roughly seven times the low estimate.
What drives these prices
- Count of examples. Four steel 1518s, four pink gold First Series 2499s with this case, two South America 2523s, one Grandmaster Chime in steel. When a watch exists once or twice, there is no market price, only the next bidder.
- Cause or celebrity. The Grandmaster Chime and the Tiffany Nautilus were both charity sales. Bidders pay more when the money goes somewhere.
- Condition and originality. Untouched dials and cases, original hands, full papers. A polished or re-dialled watch of the same reference can sell for a fraction.
- Provenance. Names such as Graves and Clapton add a story the next owner can retell.
- The week it is sold. Phillips, Christie’s and Sotheby’s build whole evenings around a star lot, and competing bidders push each other past the estimate.
FAQ
What is the most expensive Patek Philippe ever sold?
The Grandmaster Chime 6300A-010, a one-off steel watch that sold for 31 million Swiss francs (about $31 million) at Christie’s Geneva on 9 November 2019, in a charity sale.
What is the most expensive Patek Philippe wristwatch outside a charity sale?
A stainless steel Ref. 1518 perpetual calendar chronograph, sold by Phillips in Geneva in November 2025 for CHF 14.19 million, about $17.6 million.
What was the most expensive Patek Philippe sold in 2026?
Up to October 2026, the Ref. 2499 First Series in pink gold at about $10.26 million (Hong Kong, May) and the Ref. 2523 South America at about $10.25 million (Geneva, May).
Why did the Henry Graves Supercomplication sell for $24 million?
It was commissioned in 1925 by a banker, took until 1932 to finish, has 24 functions and had already made $11 million at auction in 1999. It is one object with a documented history.
What is the cheapest watch on this list?
The Ref. 3448 Padellone at about $1.7 million, though that still beats the price of most houses in many cities.
How much does a normal Patek Philippe cost?
New Patek wristwatches start in the low five figures and many popular sports models cost far more on the secondary market. The records here are single, exceptional pieces and tell you little about everyday prices.
How we put this list together
We ranked by verified sale price, using auction results and disclosed sales compiled in an internal valuation model. Prices are approximate, include buyer’s premium where reported, and change as new records are set.
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Last updated: October 2026.
