In today’s market, you can buy a watch for $10 or a watch for $10 million.
What’s crazy is you can sometimes buy incredibly expensive watches from affordable brands.
From the million-dollar Rolex to the eight-figure Swatch (!), these are five of the most expensive watches from unlikely brands.
5. Casio G-Shock 35th Anniversary – $69,500
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We’re kicking this off with a brand you definitely wouldn’t associate with luxury and that’s Casio.
The Japanese manufacturer is known for its cheap, sturdy timepieces, but it also makes some incredibly expensive stuff.
Casio sells watches under different sub-brands such as G-Shock and Mr. G, and some of these pieces cost a fortune.
Mr. G models, for example, will set you back a cool $4,000.
Mind you, that’s nothing compared to the G-Shock D5000 that Casio released for the 35th anniversary of the G-Shock brand, which is by far the brand’s most expensive timepiece.
Crafted from 18k gold and it costs, wait for it, $69,500.
4. Swatch Kiki Picasso – $110,000
Moving on to another brand you wouldn’t call ‘luxurious’, we find Swatch.
Swatch watches are generally pretty cheap, but they’re all sought after by collectors.
In 1989, a rare Kiki Picasso Swatch, named after the French artist that designed it, sold at auction at Sotheby’s in Milan for $45,000.
That’s $110,000 in today’s money, when adjusted for inflation.
3. Grand Seiko Kodo – $478,000
Grand Seiko is the sub-division that Seiko uses to sell ultra high-end stuff.
Seiko is definitely a solid brand, but Grand Seiko is the one that’s on collectors’ radars.
And the average price for a Grand Seiko reflects that.
The most expensive new model is the Elegance, which costs $29,000.
And the most expensive Grand Seiko ever sold fetched $478,000 at auction last year.
Ouch.
2. Rolex ‘Paul Newman’ Daytona – $17.75 million
The most expensive new Rolex you can buy today is the gold Day-Date, which starts at around $35,000.
Meanwhile, the priciest new Rolex ever made is the Master Ice, an iced out version of the GMT.
This one retailed for $485,350.
And then we get to the most expensive Rolex of them all, the Rolex ‘Paul Newman’ Daytona.
Featuring the iconic ‘panda’ dial and equipped with an unusual Bund strap, the Daytona sold for $17.75 million at auction.
It was famously owned and worn by actor Paul Newman, which somewhat explains the price.
1. Patek Philippe Grand Master Chime – $45 million
This is one of the most expensive watches ever made, with a retail price (when it was new in 2014) of $2.6 million.
Sometimes referred to as the ‘Grail of Grails’, it’s the Patek Philippe Grand Master Chime.
It has a long list of complications spread across two dials, one on each side, and it’s work of art.
Despite the jaw-dropping price tag, the Patek Grand Master Chime turned out to be a great investment.
Only six were made, and one of them is available from luxury website JamesEdition for $45 million.
