The most expensive watch brand in the world is Patek Philippe, whose Grandmaster Chime Ref. 6300A-010 sold for CHF 31 million (about $31 million) at Christie’s Geneva on November 9, 2019, still the highest price ever paid for a watch at auction as of October 2026. To rank brands we take the best single auction result each one has achieved. Rolex, F.P. Journe, Audemars Piguet and Richard Mille complete the top five.
| Rank | Brand | Record watch | Price (USD) | Sale date | Sold at |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Patek Philippe | Grandmaster Chime Ref. 6300A-010 | $31 million (CHF 31 million) | Nov 9, 2019 | Christie’s Geneva |
| 2 | Rolex | Paul Newman Daytona Ref. 6239 | $17.75 million | Oct 26, 2017 | Phillips New York |
| 3 | F.P. Journe | Chronomètre à Résonance, Souscription No. 007 | $13.92 million | Jun 2026 | Phillips New York |
| 4 | Audemars Piguet | Grosse Pièce pocket watch, 1914 | $7.74 million | Dec 8, 2025 | Sotheby’s New York |
| 5 | Richard Mille | RM 52-01 Skull Tourbillon “Vanitas Vanitatum” | about $6.9 million (reported) | Jul 2022 | Antiquorum, Monaco |
1. Patek Philippe: $31 million
The record is the Grandmaster Chime Ref. 6300A-010, a one-off in stainless steel made for the Only Watch charity auction. It has 20 complications and a reversible case with a rose gold dial on one side and black ebony on the other. After about five minutes of bidding it sold for CHF 31 million, about $31.3 million at the time, to an undisclosed buyer, against an estimate of $2.5 to $3.5 million. Proceeds went to research on Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The brand’s earlier record, the Henry Graves Supercomplication, sold for about $24 million in 2014.
Patek also set the biggest result of 2025. On November 9, 2025, Phillips sold a 1943 Ref. 1518 perpetual calendar chronograph in stainless steel, one of about four known, for CHF 14.19 million (about $17.6 million) in Geneva. That is the most expensive vintage Patek wristwatch ever sold.
How we valued it: final price with buyer’s premium, in Swiss francs and dollars at the time.
2. Rolex: $17.75 million
The Daytona Ref. 6239 that Joanne Woodward bought for her husband Paul Newman in 1968 sold at Phillips in New York on October 26, 2017, for $17,752,500. It is still the highest price for any Rolex.
How we valued it: the final price with buyer’s premium, from the Phillips lot page.
3. F.P. Journe: $13.92 million
F.P. Journe is a small independent maker. In June 2026 a platinum and pink gold Chronomètre à Résonance, “Souscription” No. 007, made around 2000, sold for $13,922,000 at the Phillips New York Watch Auction XIV, held with Bacs and Russo. The estimate was “in excess of $1 million”. It is the highest price ever paid for a watch by an independent maker.
How we valued it: the price with premium as reported for the June 2026 sale.
4. Audemars Piguet: $7.74 million
The 1914 Grosse Pièce, a pocket watch with 19 complications, sold at Sotheby’s New York on December 8, 2025, as part of the Olmsted Complications Collection. The total with fees was $7,736,000, after a pre-sale estimate of about $1 million. Audemars Piguet itself bought it back for its collection, and it is the brand’s most expensive watch at auction.
How we valued it: total paid with fees.
5. Richard Mille: about $6.9 million
Richard Mille’s best auction result is the RM 52-01 Skull Tourbillon “Vanitas Vanitatum”, a 2012 limited series of 21 with a brown sapphire case. Two reports date its top result to Antiquorum’s Monaco sale in July 2022, at about $6.9 million (about €6.75 million). Older reports give lower figures between about $5.5 and $5.8 million for Monaco sales in 2020, so treat the exact number as approximate.
How we valued it: the reported price with premium, flagged as approximate because sources disagree.
Just outside the top five
Philippe Dufour’s Grande et Petite Sonnerie No. 1 wristwatch sold at Phillips Geneva in November 2021 for CHF 4,749,000 with premium, about $5.21 million, then the record for an independent maker. Phillips’s two-day sale that month totalled CHF 68.3 million, a watch-auction record at the time.
What drives these prices
- One of one. Most records above are unique watches, prototypes or one of four.
- A named first owner. A film star or a collector with a known history can double the price against an identical watch.
- Brand buyback. Audemars Piguet and Patek Philippe buy back history, which sets a floor under key lots.
- Independent heat. Collectors now chase small makers like Journe and Dufour, because there are only a few pieces to go around.
Brands that charge the most for new watches
Auction records measure resale. Some houses announce still higher prices on new pieces that have never gone under the hammer. These are asking prices and valuations, so they stay out of our ranking.
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FAQ
What is the most expensive watch brand in the world?
Patek Philippe. It holds the auction record at $31 million.
What is the most expensive watch ever sold?
The Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime Ref. 6300A-010, sold for CHF 31 million at Christie’s Geneva on November 9, 2019.
What is the most expensive Rolex ever sold?
The Paul Newman Daytona Ref. 6239, sold for $17.75 million at Phillips in October 2017.
What was the most recent watch record?
The F.P. Journe Chronomètre à Résonance, sold in June 2026 for $13.92 million, a record for an independent watchmaker.
How we put this list together
We ranked brands by the highest price any single watch of theirs has reached at public auction, using lot pages and dated sale reports, and kept valuations and asking prices out. Prices are approximate and change as new records fall.
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Last updated: October 2026.
