A ladies’ watch outshines the cost of many private jets. The Graff Diamonds Hallucination, a unique quartz timepiece encrusted with 110 carats of rare colored diamonds, carries an estimated value of 55 million dollars.
Unveiled at Baselworld 2014, the Hallucination features a platinum bracelet fully paved with pink, blue, green, orange, and yellow fancy-colored diamonds in various cuts. Its minuscule dial nearly vanishes amid the gems. Graff chairman Laurence Graff described it as a sculptural masterpiece celebrating the miracle of colored diamonds.
The Graff Diamonds Fascination, valued at about 40 million dollars, offers a transformable design. At its core is a 38.13-carat D-Flawless pear-shaped diamond that detaches to become a ring, revealing a fully diamond-set watch dial. The piece totals 152.96 carats of colorless diamonds, emphasizing jewelry over mechanics.
In 2019, the Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime 6300A-010 fetched 31 million dollars at the Only Watch charity auction in Geneva, becoming the most expensive watch sold at the time. This stainless-steel model boasts 20 complications and a reversible double-faced case, unique to this reference. Coverage noted it as the world’s most expensive watch post-sale.
The Breguet 1160 recreates the legendary Breguet No. 160 “Marie Antoinette” pocket watch, commissioned in the 18th century and finished after the queen’s death. Launched in 2008 from archival drawings, this self-winding, highly complicated pocket watch is valued around 30 million dollars.
Mechanical Marvels and Royal Gifts
The Jaeger-LeCoultre Joaillerie 101 Manchette houses the tiny hand-wound Calibre 101, among the smallest mechanical movements ever produced, within a gem-set bracelet. A version with 576 diamonds and a sapphire dial was gifted to Queen Elizabeth II in 2012 for her Diamond Jubilee.
Chopard’s 201-Carat Watch centers on three heart-shaped diamonds: a 15-carat pink, a 12-carat blue, and an 11-carat colorless one, surrounded by hundreds of white and yellow diamonds totaling 201 carats. Valued at roughly 25 million dollars, its spring-loaded mechanism lets the hearts open like petals to reveal a pavé-set dial.
Auction Records and Historic Complications
The Patek Philippe Supercomplication, or Henry Graves Supercomplication, was made for banker Henry Graves Jr. and completed in 1932 without electronics. With 24 complications, it sold for 24 million dollars at Sotheby’s Geneva in 2014.
Floyd Mayweather bought the Jacob & Co. Billionaire Watch for 18 million dollars in 2018. This 18-karat white-gold skeleton tourbillon is set with 260 carats of emerald-cut diamonds.
Paul Newman’s Rolex Daytona, reference 6239 gifted by his wife Joanne Woodward, sold for 17.75 million dollars at Phillips in New York in 2017. Described as the most iconic 20th-century collector’s wristwatch, its value stems from provenance.
A stainless-steel Patek Philippe 1518, one of four known examples from its 1941 introduction as the first serial perpetual calendar chronograph, reached 11.1 million dollars at auction in 2016, then a wristwatch record.
Factors Driving Extreme Values
These watches derive worth from distinct elements. The Hallucination, Fascination, and Chopard rely on rare diamonds and intricate settings. Patek Philippe’s Grandmaster Chime and Supercomplication highlight mechanical peaks with dozens of complications.
Provenance elevates Newman’s Daytona and the steel 1518, where rarity trumps materials.
Auctions and Charitable Impact
Auction houses and events like Only Watch 2019, which aided Duchenne muscular dystrophy research, have set these benchmarks. Sotheby’s and Phillips similarly spotlighted the Supercomplication and Newman’s Daytona.
Experts view these as blends of horology, jewelry, and art investment. Sourcing the Hallucination’s diamonds took years, underscoring rarity and craftsmanship.
As collector demand grows, these timepieces signal shifting luxury markets, where innovation, history, and scarcity define value amid economic flux. Their prices reflect not just opulence but cultural artifacts poised for future auctions.
Sources:
“Graff Hallucination and the Reasonable 55 Million Dollar Price Tag.” Revolution, 2014.
“Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime for Only Watch 2019 Becomes the Most Expensive Watch Ever Sold.” Hodinkee, 2019.
“Rare Patek Philippe Wristwatch Sells for $11M.” CNN Style, 2016.
“This October, Paul Newman’s Rolex Set the World Record for a Wristwatch at Auction.” Phillips, 2017.
“Floyd Mayweather Purchases $18 Million ‘Billionaire’ Watch from Jacob & Co.” Forbes, 2018.
“Jaeger‑LeCoultre Gifts Iconic 101 Timepiece to Queen Elizabeth II to Mark the Diamond Jubilee.” Jaeger‑LeCoultre / La Cote des Montres, 2012.