Watch Auction Records: The Highest Prices Ever Paid

What Are the Most Expensive Wristwatches Ever Sold at Auction?

Nine of the ten wristwatch results in the table below are by Patek Philippe, and the tenth is Paul Newman’s Rolex Daytona ref. 6239. The highest is the Grandmaster Chime ref. 6300A-010 at CHF 31,000,000 in 2019. The most recent is the Patek Philippe ref. 2523 “South America” world time watch, which sold for CHF 7,961,000 at Phillips in Geneva in May 2026, a world record for the reference.

Two of the largest results came from steel watches made decades apart. The 1943 Patek Philippe ref. 1518, the first stainless steel 1518 made, sold for CHF 11,002,000 at Phillips in 2016 and returned to Phillips in November 2025, when it made CHF 14,190,000, a world record for a vintage Patek Philippe wristwatch. In US dollars, Phillips published $17,631,075, just below the $17,752,500 paid for the Paul Newman Daytona.

The most expensive watch of any kind sold at auction is a pocket watch: the Patek Philippe Henry Graves Supercomplication, which made CHF 23.2 million at Sotheby’s in Geneva in 2014. It sits outside the table, which covers wristwatches only.

Which Brands Hold the Highest Auction Results?

Patek Philippe holds the wristwatch record and every place in the table but one, led by its world time watches: three examples of the ref. 2523 sold for between HK$65,475,000 and HK$70,175,000 at Christie’s in Hong Kong from 2019 to 2024. The ref. 1518 perpetual calendar chronograph appears twice, in steel at Phillips and in pink gold at Sotheby’s, where Prince Mohammed Tewfik A. Toussoun’s example made about $9.6 million in 2021 against a low estimate of $1.2 million. Current collections and authorised boutiques in the Gulf are covered in the Patek Philippe guide.

The steel Nautilus ref. 5711/1A-018 with a Tiffany Blue dial sold for $6,503,500 at Phillips New York in December 2021, the only steel sports watch in the table. The reference it belongs to, from Gérald Genta’s design to its discontinuation, is covered in the Nautilus ref. 5711 article.

Rolex’s highest auction result remains Paul Newman’s own Daytona ref. 6239, sold at the Phillips Winning Icons sale in New York on 26 October 2017 for $17,752,500, at the time a world record for any wristwatch at auction. The watch, its engraving and its owner are covered in the Paul Newman Daytona article. Secondary prices for the current Rolex catalogue are in the Rolex collector’s guide.

Audemars Piguet’s leading results sit below that level. At Phillips’ dedicated Royal Oak sale in Geneva, the Royal Oak ref. 5402ST A2, the second Royal Oak ever produced and one of the four watches that revealed the design at Baselworld 1972, sold for CHF 1,058,500, which Phillips described as a record for the Royal Oak. The collections that followed it are covered in the Audemars Piguet guide.

How Do Phillips, Christie’s and Sotheby’s Compare?

Phillips, which sells watches in association with Bacs & Russo, holds the record for a single watch sale: The Geneva Watch Auction: XXIII on 9 and 10 May 2026 totalled CHF 74,846,995, with 224 of 225 lots sold and 43 world records. Its Decade One sale in Geneva in November 2025 sold all 207 lots for CHF 66,815,725. At the May 2026 sale, F.P. Journe’s Chronomètre à Résonance “Souscription No. 18” made CHF 4,875,000 against an estimate of CHF 450,000 to 900,000.

Christie’s holds the wristwatch record with the 6300A-010, and it sold the steel Grande and Petite Sonnerie ref. 6301A-010 for CHF 15,700,000 at the Only Watch auction in Geneva on 10 May 2024. Its Hong Kong saleroom accounts for the three ref. 2523 results in the table.

Sotheby’s sold the Henry Graves Supercomplication in 2014 and the pink gold Toussoun 1518 in 2021. In December 2025 it sold the first complete set of the Patek Philippe Star Caliber 2000 for $11.9 million in Abu Dhabi.

How Should a Collector Read an Auction Result?

The price the auction houses publish includes the buyer’s premium, which is charged on top of the hammer price. At Phillips, from 12 April 2026, the premium in a Geneva watch sale is 27 percent of the hammer price up to CHF 1.6 million, 21 percent on the portion up to CHF 7 million and 14.5 percent above that, before local taxes. A watch hammered at CHF 100,000 therefore costs CHF 127,000 before tax. Christie’s and Sotheby’s publish their own tiered scales in the conditions of each sale.

Charity results follow a different rule. Only Watch sales carry no buyer’s premium, according to Monochrome Watches, so the CHF 31,000,000 paid for the 6300A-010 is the final bid itself.

The estimate is the house’s guide, and the results in the table cleared theirs by a wide margin. The steel 1518 was estimated in excess of CHF 8 million and made CHF 14,190,000, while the Toussoun 1518 carried a low estimate of $1.2 million and made about $9.6 million. The Paul Newman Daytona was estimated in excess of $1 million, and the Tiffany Nautilus was offered with its estimate on request.

Sell-through, the share of lots that find a buyer, is the other figure worth reading. Phillips sold 224 of 225 lots in May 2026 and all 207 in November 2025. How secondary prices then move over one, three and five years is tracked separately in our value retention data.

Are There Watch Auctions in Saudi Arabia and the UAE?

Sotheby’s held its first auction in Saudi Arabia, Origins, in Diriyah on 8 February 2025, and the $17.3 million sale included watches, among them a Rolex Paul Newman Daytona that made $240,000. In December 2025 Sotheby’s Abu Dhabi Collectors’ Week reached $133 million across its sales at the St. Regis Saadiyat Island. Its jewellery and watches sale was led by the Star Caliber 2000 set at $11.9 million.

Christie’s has run watch sales in Dubai since at least 2016, when a sale of important watches sold 149 lots for Dh9.74 million. Its later online sales, Watches Online: The Dubai Edit, were placed on view at the Dubai International Financial Centre before bidding opened. Both houses publish the dates and conditions of each Gulf sale on their own sites.

What Does a Watch Bought at Auction Cost a Buyer in Saudi Arabia or the UAE?

A watch imported into Saudi Arabia pays 5 percent customs duty and 15 percent VAT, applied by ZATCA on the value plus duty, which comes to 20.75 percent of the CIF value. In the UAE, Dubai Customs charges the same 5 percent duty and the Federal Tax Authority adds 5 percent VAT, for 10.25 percent. On a watch with a CIF value of $100,000, that is about $20,750 in Saudi Arabia and $10,250 in the UAE, before logistics and clearance fees.

Christie’s states in its guide to auction fees that local duties, sales tax and import costs may fall on the buyer, depending on where the watch is delivered. A watch hammered at CHF 100,000 in Geneva therefore costs CHF 127,000 with Phillips’ premium, and an import into Saudi Arabia adds 20.75 percent of its CIF value on top. Where to buy pre-owned in the Gulf instead, platform by platform, is covered in the pre-owned guide.

For collectors in the Gulf, The Luxury Closet in Dubai lists authenticated pre-owned luxury watches with duties and taxes included in the price for GCC delivery. Elsewhere, pre-owned examples are listed on Chrono24 and Bob’s Watches.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the most expensive watch ever sold at auction?

The Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime ref. 6300A-010 sold for CHF 31,000,000 at the Only Watch charity auction on 9 November 2019, the record for a wristwatch according to Guinness World Records. The most expensive watch of any kind is a pocket watch, the Patek Philippe Henry Graves Supercomplication, at CHF 23.2 million at Sotheby’s in 2014, which places it second overall.

What is the most expensive Rolex ever sold at auction?

Paul Newman’s own Rolex Daytona ref. 6239 sold for $17,752,500 at Phillips in New York on 26 October 2017, buyer’s premium included. At the time it was the world record for any wristwatch at auction. The Patek Philippe ref. 6300A-010 took that record in 2019.

What is the difference between the hammer price and the final price?

The hammer price is the winning bid, and the published result adds the buyer’s premium on top. At Phillips, from 12 April 2026, the premium in Geneva is 27 percent up to CHF 1.6 million, 21 percent up to CHF 7 million and 14.5 percent above, before local taxes. Charity sales such as Only Watch carry no premium.

Are there watch auctions in Saudi Arabia or the UAE?

Sotheby’s held its first auction in Saudi Arabia in Diriyah on 8 February 2025, with watches among the lots, and its Abu Dhabi Collectors’ Week in December 2025 reached $133 million across all sales. Christie’s has held watch sales in Dubai since at least 2016. Dates and terms are published on each house’s site.

What does a watch bought at auction cost to import into Saudi Arabia?

Saudi Arabia charges 5 percent customs duty and 15 percent VAT on the duty-inclusive value, or 20.75 percent of the CIF value, on top of the auction price and premium. In the UAE the total is 10.25 percent. On a watch with a CIF value of $100,000, that is about $20,750 in Saudi Arabia and $10,250 in the UAE.

Which watch auction has grossed the most?

Phillips’ The Geneva Watch Auction: XXIII, held with Bacs & Russo on 9 and 10 May 2026, totalled CHF 74,846,995, the highest-grossing watch auction on record according to Phillips. It sold 224 of 225 lots and set 43 world records. Its top lot was a Patek Philippe ref. 2523 “South America” at CHF 7,961,000.

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