Only Watch’s Grandmaster Chime in steel broke records.
There have been rumors in Geneva that the Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime Ref. 6300A could sell for over $20 million on Friday. But when the hammer finally fell on Saturday at the Only Watch auction, crowds were stunned when the watch sold for a whopping $31,194,370, cementing its place as the world’s most expensive watch. Patek Philippe’s Henry Graves Supercomplication sold for $24 million in 2014, and Rolex’s Paul Newman Daytona wristwatch sold for million in 2017.
Although Patek Philippe’s Grandmaster Chime is the most expensive and coveted watch in the collection, this version comes in steel, with 1,366 movement components and 214 case components. We might think the Watch-collecting world had gone crazy if it weren’t for charity—the proceeds of Only Watch support research into Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. For Patek Philippe’s 175th anniversary in 2014, the Ref. 5175R was introduced in rose gold for $2.5 million. Another, the $2.2 million Ref. 6300G, is made from white gold. Only seven pieces of the Ref. 5175R were made, one of which is in Patek Philippe’s museum. Although the Ref. 6300G was technically not limited, very few have been produced.
The Paul Newman Daytona, which sold for almost million in 2018, once held the record for the most expensive wristwatch ever sold.
Patek Philippe’s Henry Graves Supercomplication, which sold for $24 million in 2014, held the record for the most expensive timepiece ever sold.
Ultimately, the Ref. 6300A hit the stratosphere because it was a one-of-a-kind watch—a fact emphasized on the dial, which reads “The Only One.” More importantly, it was available to anyone with the means to purchase it. In addition to other Grandmaster Chimes, Patek Philippe’s top collectors must apply to prove their worth more than their equally wealthy counterparts. Topping it off is its golden opaline dial (sometimes referred to as salmon), a treatment that has become highly collectible. A black dial covers the other face. Its final plus was that it was packaged in a steel case. While steel is not a precious or rare metal, it has become increasingly sought after in watch collecting in recent years.
