November 2019
The Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime — The Most Expensive Watch Ever Sold
A one-of-a-kind Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime, Reference 6300A — the only Grandmaster Chime ever produced in stainless steel — sold at the Only Watch charity auction in Geneva on 9 November 2019 for CHF 31 million (approximately US$31.2 million), becoming the most expensive watch ever sold at auction. The result more than doubled the previous record and drew global attention to both Patek Philippe's watchmaking prowess and the Only Watch charitable cause.
The Grandmaster Chime is, by any measure, one of the most complicated wristwatches ever created. It features 20 complications, including five chiming functions — a first for any wristwatch — a minute repeater, an alarm, and a date repeater that chimes the current date on demand. The reference 6300A created for Only Watch was unique: the only Grandmaster Chime cased in stainless steel rather than the more typical gold or platinum. That Patek Philippe chose steel for a charity piece was itself a statement — steel is, in watchmaking circles, sometimes more prized than precious metals for its difficulty and the message it sends about priorities. The CHF 31 million hammer price, achieved after a bidding war that lasted only minutes but drew offers from around the world, was a staggering sum for a timepiece: more than the previous record by nearly US$8 million. The proceeds went to research into Duchenne muscular dystrophy, making the sale as much a humanitarian milestone as a horological one. The record still stands.