It’s like a piece of classic art! Gaze in awe, as much as you like at that picture above. It isn’t just a beautiful wrist watch but also the most expensive watch ever sold, at the Only Watch auction! Yes, the Patek Philippe Ref. 5016A-010. It is made in umm.. Steel! The unique Patek Philippe watch is sold under the hammer for a whooping 7.3Million CHF or $7.26 Million at the Only Watch 2015 charity auction. The now most expensive watch from Only Watch, was predicted to go for 700,000 to 900,000 CHF by the auction house. But, the experts in the watch community suggested that this watch might become the highest priced wristwatch of all time at the Geneva charity and it certainly did!

One might think what’s so special about this timepiece? For starters, Ref. 5016A is a one of a kind grand complication from Patek Philippe – in steel case and blue enamel dial. Like all other participants of the Only Watch auction, Patek Philippe, too made only one piece of the blue dial Patek Philippe Reference 5016A-010. The complications in this watch include a retrograde date hand, a Perpetual Calendar, Moonphase, a Tourbillon and this watch is also a minute repeater. The most unique feature of the watch is its size – 36.8 mm in diameter. That is small for a complication loaded watch like this. What’s also special is that the watch is made in steel and given a shade never seen before in a Patek Philippe watch! To find a grand complication, nowadays, in that size from any watchmaker, let alone a Patek, is like trying to find a genie!

2015 seems to be a great year for horology. Two milestones were set. Vacheron Constantin released the Most Complicated Watch in the World (full article here). Now, Patek Philippe, that continues to prove why it deserves the constant attention, respect and admiration from both watch fans and collectors builds this special watch that turned out to be the most expensive watch ever auctioned. What’s amazing is that it all goes to charity for the purpose for which Only Watch auction was started. The highest priced watch before Patek Philippe Reference 5016A-010 was a wristwatch auctioned at a phenomenal 6.3Million CHF! No surprise that watch too was a Patek Philippe, the Ref. 1527, sold in 2010.

Only Watch Auction is a charity event that is held every alternate year. The most respected and popular Swiss watch brands present a single, unique watch, created specially for auction to benefit Monaco association against muscular dystrophy.

Words by Yogen Bobde