The most expensive watch ever sold at auction is the Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime Ref. 6300A-010, which fetched 31 million Swiss francs (about $31.2 million) at Christie’s in Geneva on 9 November 2019. The 2013 version of this list peaked at $11 million and was made of jewelled showpieces. Today the top spots belong to auction results, and this page ranks the five highest as of October 2026.
| Rank | Item | Price (USD) | Sale date | Sold at |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime Ref. 6300A-010 | about $31.2 million | November 2019 | Christie’s, Geneva |
| 2 | Patek Philippe Henry Graves Supercomplication | about $24.0 million | November 2014 | Sotheby’s, Geneva |
| 3 | Rolex Daytona Ref. 6239 “Paul Newman” | $17.75 million | October 2017 | Phillips, New York |
| 4 | Patek Philippe Ref. 1518 in stainless steel | about $17.6 million | November 2025 | Phillips, Geneva |
| 5 | Patek Philippe Grande Sonnerie Ref. 6301A-010 | about $17 million (CHF 15.7 million) | May 2024 | Christie’s, Geneva |
1. Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime Ref. 6300A-010: about $31.2 million
This is a one-off stainless steel version of Patek’s most complicated wristwatch. Patek made it for the Only Watch charity auction, which raises money for research into Duchenne muscular dystrophy. It carries 20 complications, including a minute repeater, a perpetual calendar and a double-faced case that reverses to show a second dial. Christie’s sold it in Geneva on 9 November 2019 for 31 million Swiss francs including premium.
Because the watch was a charity lot and made once, collectors competed for something that could never be reordered. It remains the record for any wristwatch, and the highest watch price of any kind.
How we valued it: the price with buyer’s premium, converted from Swiss francs at the 2019 rate.
2. Patek Philippe Henry Graves Supercomplication: about $24.0 million
This gold pocket watch was made in 1933 for the New York banker Henry Graves Jr. and took five years to complete. It has 24 complications and was the most complicated watch in the world for more than fifty years. Sotheby’s sold it in Geneva on 11 November 2014 for 23,237,000 francs. That is the record for a pocket watch, and the record for any watch not sold for charity.
How we valued it: the price with premium at Sotheby’s Geneva, converted at the 2014 rate.
3. Rolex Daytona Ref. 6239 “Paul Newman”: $17.75 million
The actor Paul Newman wore this Daytona for years, after his wife Joanne Woodward gave it to him in 1968 with the engraving “Drive carefully me”. Phillips sold it in New York on 26 October 2017 for $17,752,500. It is the record for any Rolex and the highest price for a watch sold in North America.
How we valued it: price with premium at Phillips, in dollars.
4. Patek Philippe Ref. 1518 in stainless steel: about $17.6 million
The 1518 was the first perpetual calendar chronograph in series production, and only four are known in steel. This 1943 example sold at Phillips’ Decade One sale in Geneva in November 2025 for 14.19 million francs, a record for a vintage Patek wristwatch. It is the same watch that sold in 2016 for about 11 million francs, a gain of roughly 3 million francs in nine years. Bidding reportedly opened at 8 million francs and ended by phone.
How we valued it: 14,190,000 francs with premium, converted at about the November 2025 rate.
5. Patek Philippe Grande Sonnerie Ref. 6301A-010: about $17 million
Another Only Watch piece: a one-of-a-kind steel Grande and Petite Sonnerie minute repeater with a hand-engraved dial. It sold for 15.7 million francs at Christie’s Geneva on 10 May 2024, against a pre-sale estimate of 1.5 to 1.8 million francs. That is roughly nine times the high estimate.
How we valued it: 15.7 million francs as published, converted at about the May 2024 rate, so treat the dollar figure as approximate.
Records set in 2025 and 2026
The 1518 above is the biggest result of 2025. Since then, three more sales hit eight figures. An F.P. Journe Chronomètre à Résonance (No. 007, Souscription series) made $13.9 million at Phillips on 13 June 2026, the highest price an independent watchmaker has reached. In December 2025 an F.P. Journe prototype fetched about $10.8 million. A pink gold Patek Ref. 2499 sold for HK$80.4 million (just over $10 million) at Phillips Hong Kong on 30 May 2026. A Patek Ref. 2523 “South America” made CHF 7.96 million in Geneva on 9 May 2026, a record for the reference, and the Phillips Geneva sale of May 2026 totalled about CHF 74.8 million, the largest watch auction on record. None of them displaced the top five.
What drives these prices
- Charity lots outrun estimates. Two of the five were made for Only Watch, and buyers pay for the one-off status and the cause.
- Patek dominates. Nine of the ten priciest sales through 2022 were Patek Philippe, and 2025 kept the pattern.
- The resale premium is real. The steel 1518 gained nearly 30 percent in nine years.
- Retail gem-set watches rank lower. The 2013 list was built from jeweller prices, such as the $3.3 million Piaget Emperador Temple, but those pieces rarely trade, so they do not appear here.
FAQ
What is the most expensive watch ever sold?
The Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime Ref. 6300A-010, which sold for 31 million francs (about $31.2 million) at Christie’s Geneva in November 2019.
What is the most expensive Rolex ever sold?
Paul Newman’s Rolex Daytona Ref. 6239, which sold for $17.75 million at Phillips in New York in October 2017.
What is the most expensive pocket watch?
The Patek Philippe Henry Graves Supercomplication, sold for about $24 million at Sotheby’s Geneva in 2014.
What was the biggest watch sale of 2025?
A stainless steel Patek Philippe Ref. 1518, which fetched 14.19 million francs (about $17.6 million) at Phillips Geneva in November 2025.
Is there a more expensive watch that never went to auction?
Yes. Jewellers have listed gem-set pieces at higher asking prices, but those are valuations or retail prices, so we rank only completed auction sales.
Which brand has the most watches on the list?
Patek Philippe, by a wide margin, followed by Rolex.
How we put this list together
We ranked watches by verified auction price including buyer’s premium, using results compiled in an internal valuation model. Prices are converted from francs and Hong Kong dollars at the rate of the sale and are approximate.
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Last updated: October 2026.
