Most Expensive Pocket Watches Sold at Auction (All Time)

About This Dataset

Pocket watches ranked by hammer price at public auction in millions of USD. The Henry Graves Supercomplication — a Patek Philippe pocket watch made between 1925 and 1932 for New York banker Henry Graves — sold at Sotheby's Geneva in 2014 for $24 million, the highest price ever paid for a pocket watch at auction at the time. Containing 24 complications including a celestial chart of the New York night sky, it was the most complex watch ever made and remained unsurpassed for decades.

✨ AI Insight

The gap between the top two entries and the rest of the pack is striking, with the Queen Marie Antoinette Breguet and Henry Graves Supercomplication commanding prices of $30 million and $24 million, respectively. In contrast, the next highest, the Calibre 89, sold for just $6.1 million, indicating a steep drop-off in value. This disparity suggests that unique historical narratives and exceptional craftsmanship significantly influence auction prices. The George III Gold Automaton Watch at $4.7 million and Napoleon Bonaparte's watch at $2.2 million further illustrate this trend, as they are notable for their royal connections. The data indicates a niche market where provenance and rarity drive demand, often resulting in astronomical prices for select pieces.

Source: Wikipedia

Key Findings

Auto-computed highlights from this dataset

🏆

Queen Marie Antoinette Breguet (1827) leads with 30 in 2021.

📊

Average value in 2021: 2 · median: 2.

📅

1999 recorded the highest combined total across all categories.

↔️

Gap in 2021: Queen Marie Antoinette Breguet (1827) is 63.8× larger than Abraham Lincoln Gold Watch (1858).

Most Expensive Pocket Watches Sold at Auction (All Time)

Bar

H-Bar

Line

Area

🗺 Map

Table

Data Insights Below

Data Insights

Numbers, trends & sources behind this chart

Admin

⬡

Data Points

8 categories · 8 years

↑

Top Value

Queen Marie Antoinette Breguet (1827)

Auction Price (Million USD) · 1999

◈

Metrics

Auction Price (Million USD)

◷

Period

1999 – 2021

8 years of data

Rankings & Full Data

8 records · Auction Price (Million USD) · ranked by 2021

✓ 8 sourced

#	Category	1999	2009	2014	2015	2016	2019	2020	2021	Change
🥇	Queen Marie Antoinette Breguet (1827)	30	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
🥈	Henry Graves Supercomplication (Patek Philippe)	—	—	24	—	—	—	—	—	—
🥉	Vacheron Constantin Ref 57260	—	—	—	8	—	—	—	—	—
4	Calibre 89 (Patek Philippe)	—	6.10	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
5	George III Gold Automaton Watch	—	—	—	—	—	4.70	—	—	—
6	Patek Philippe Ref 912 (1925)	—	—	—	—	2.80	—	—	—	—
7	Napoleon Bonaparte Gold Pocket Watch	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	2.20	—
8	Abraham Lincoln Gold Watch (1858)	—	—	—	—	—	—	0.47	—	—