We landed here to find the most valuable watch brands of the world. Most of us don’t know that the watches have been around since the fourteenth century in one form or another. The first pocket watch emerged during this time period complements of Peter Henlen, early watchmaker. Since this time, the craft has become an art form that has spurred top watchmakers to strive for the highest in quality, performance, and aesthetics.

Watches have long been used for both practical, aesthetic and collectible purposes. To one person it is an indispensable device used for telling time and for another, it is a symbol of status and achievement.

We’ve put together a collection of the world’s top ten most valuable watch brands in existence today for your enjoyment.

Rolex

Hans Wilsdorf is the founder of the Rolex watch manufacturing company. With headquarters in Switzerland and shops in London. He began production of the brand’s luxury watch collections.

His pieces include the finest in movement, craftsmanship, and materials offering 14 and 18 karat gold examples as well as stainless steel. It is the most expensive brand in the world and has achieved international fame for their productions which include pink gold, yellow gold, and platinum editions.

They were the first brand to offer water and dust proof versions with multiple time zones and a date display placed on the dial. Rolex is the tenth most expensive watch brand in the world today.

Ulysse Nardin

The Ulysse Nardin watchmaking company began in 1846, in Switzerland. The country known for producing some of the finest and most expensive watches in the world is recognized for the innovation of mechanics.

The beauty of the watches was honored on multiple occasions for the high quality and bold aesthetics of their timepieces.

Among their most prized innovations are the useful features including annual calendar, standard calendar, alarm, and marine indications. They are known for producing award-winning chronometer designs and have produced multiple collectible examples which are in high demand.

Blancpain watches

Jehan-Jacques began producing watches in 1735 in the town of Villiers, Switzerland. Blancpain is the oldest watchmaking company in the world.

Currently, the company makes thirty watches per day with a single watchmaker working on a specific example. These innovative timepieces include remarkable features including a tourbillon, calendar, perpetual and minute repeater.

The watches are known for their classical design and have earned a reputation for being reliable and quite aesthetically pleasing. The brand is distributed through the finest jewelry retailers throughout the globe.

Girard-Perregaux

Established in 1791 in Switzerland, Girard-Perregaux is one of the oldest watchmaking companies in existence. The artisans produce expensive timepieces for rich clientele upon assignment, serving royalty as well as others.

Each watch is high priced and exquisite in design. The Tri-Axial tourbillon is among the most attractive and unique with a visible tourbillon featuring three individual axes.

The satisfaction of client demand is a top priority for Girard-Perregaux, along with the use of the highest quality materials, innovative engineering and exquisite craftsmanship.

Jaeger-LeCoultre

Jaeger-LeCoultre first introduced the watchmaking of Antoine LeCoultre in the year 1833 in the form of a clock and a watch. He formed a partnership with Jager, hence the name of the company.

The complications are impressive with master control, master compressor, reverse, Atmos, Amvox and EDeALE models. These examples are produced by the sixth most valuable watch brand in the world.

Audemars Piguet

Long known for their collectible examples, Audemars Piguet was founded by Jules-Louis Audemars and Auguste Piguet in 1875.

Each watch produced met the criteria for stylishness in design and sheer luxury. Only the best materials are combined with impressive workmanship and brilliance in aesthetic design.

The watchmaker is known for its Octagonal Royal Oak example which is made of stainless steel, as well as a platinum edition crafted in 2006 with a limited release of just 20 examples throughout the world.

Audemars Piguet is the fifth most valuable watch brand in the world today with their headquarters in Switzerland.

Lange & Sohne

Ferdinand Adolph Lange founded the prestigious A. Lange & Sohne watchmaking company in Glashutte, Germany in 1845. This maker of luxury watches is the fourth most valuable brand in the world today.

They are known for their watches featuring a variety of high-end materials including platinum, rose gold, white gold and yellow gold.

The examples are identified by the signature Glashutte I/SA which stands for the name Saxony which is the city of a manufacturer for these high-end timepieces.

Breguet

The Breguet watch brand was established in 1775 in Paris, France by Abraham Louis Breguet. This is one of the oldest watchmaking companies in the world today with their first wristwatch produced in the year 1810.

The cost of Breguet examples ranges between $6,000 and $400,000 with the Tahitian mother of pearl being one of the watchmaker’s most famous created.

The look is an ultra-modern from the third most valuable watch brand in the world today.

Vacheron Constantin

Jean-Marc Vacheron founded the Vacheron Constantin watch company in Geneva, Switzerland in 1755. The company’s most expensive example was the Kallista that was initially valued at $5 million in 1979.

Since that time, this particular watch has increased in value to fetch a whopping $11 million.

The company released its 26th-anniversary watch that featured the most complicated and expensive wristwatch in the mechanical class in 2015 which took a total of three watchmakers eight years to build.

They are the second most expensive watch brand in the world today.

Patek Philippe

The Patek Philippe watch brand is the most expensive in the world today. The company was founded by Antoni Patek Adrien Philippe in 1839. They headquartered the business in Plan-Les-Ouates, Switzerland.

The company is known for its world-famous chronographs minute repeater and perpetual calendar. The company produced the Patek Philippe Henry Graves Super complication which took three years just to design and five years to produce the example which was the most complicated piece produced and introduced to the public in 1933.