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The Most Expensive Watch in the World?

Chris "Italia"

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The Most Expensive Watch in the World.


It might appear, to the discriminating eye, that I am on a watch/clock binge. To you out there who have come to this conclusion, I say nay nay. It's mere coincidence me lads. Mere coincidence...and nothing more. That said...onward.

There is a company in Switzerland by the name of Chopard that exhibited, not too long ago, what is supposed to be the most expensive watch in the world. Here is what it contains. First there are three heart-shaped diamonds. The Pink Heart Diamond weighs 15 carats. The Blue Heart Diamond weighs 12 carats. And the White Heart Diamond weighs 11 carats.

Now then...for many of us this would be sufficient. After all...thirty eight carats of fancy cut and fancy color...that's not bad. Right? Wrong! These three colorful heart shapes are set in a bracelet encrusted with more white and yellow fancy shaped diamonds which make up little flowers in design. Total weight of these little doo-dads..163 carats. We are now talking over 200 carats of diamonds in white and fancy colors.

The question some of you may have at this point would be...hey...with all these diamonds in the way...how to I get to see the time? The answer my friends...is very simple. There is a spring loaded mechanism which, when pressed, allows our three heart shapes to mechanically open up, much the way the petals of a rose do while still wet with morning dew and sprinkled with sunshine. And there, underneath, is the watch itself, also studded with diamonds, ready to perform the utilitarian task it was meant to do.

And the value of our little bauble folks? By a show of hands...who out there wants to know the worth of our timepiece? And again...by a show of hands...who out there would like to see a picture of Chopard's little masterpiece? Now...lemme count those hands. There's one...there's another...and another....Okay. I'll tell you. The watch is worth 25 million dollars. For those who didn't hear me...that's 25 MILLION DOLLARS! Can you believe it? Now...go to my home page...scroll down the Tables Menu...to where it says Tidbits...and then Tidbits Graphics...and click...and thar she'll be.
 

edmorel

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I wouldn't consider that a watch in the classic sense just a timepiece with a lot of diamonds. no different than a bracelet. A gentleman by the name of Lord Arran commisioned Franck Muller and Paul Gerber, two remarkable watchmakers, to make him the most complicated (chrono, EOT, tourbillon, couple of retrogrades etc. etc.) wristwatch in the world. The watch was completed about two years ago and it is an incredible watch and a remarkable study in micro engineering as it is actually wearable. I think it is insured/valued at around $5 million and that would make it one of the most expensive, if not the most expensive, modern wristwatch in the world. Obviously there are more expensive pieces, mostly Patek pocket watches, in the vintage market.
 

drizzt3117

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That Chopard watch is a piece of jewelry, not really a watch, as ed said.
 

grimslade

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Um, where's your homepage?
 

Chris "Italia"

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Originally Posted by grimslade
Um, where's your homepage?


I copy and pasted it from a website...
 

grimslade

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Originally Posted by Chris "Italia"
I copy and pasted it from a website...


So... Do you have a link?
sly.gif
 

ATM

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If you're going to spend that much, at least buy one of the pocket watches Patek Philippe made for Henry Graves.
 

LabelKing

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Originally Posted by edmorel
I wouldn't consider that a watch in the classic sense just a timepiece with a lot of diamonds. no different than a bracelet. A gentleman by the name of Lord Arran commisioned Franck Muller and Paul Gerber, two remarkable watchmakers, to make him the most complicated (chrono, EOT, tourbillon, couple of retrogrades etc. etc.) wristwatch in the world. The watch was completed about two years ago and it is an incredible watch and a remarkable study in micro engineering as it is actually wearable. I think it is insured/valued at around $5 million and that would make it one of the most expensive, if not the most expensive, modern wristwatch in the world. Obviously there are more expensive pieces, mostly Patek pocket watches, in the vintage market.
Yes, Lord Arran posted the process of that project about 4 years back on the Purists.

However, Vacheron & Constantin also have a very complicated wristwatch that was apparently profiled in the first Men's Vogue.

Of course, a wrist-watch given its size limitations can't exceed the complications of a pocket-watch.
 

Ambulance Chaser

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Completely absurd. Sounds like an even worse version of the Jacob the Jeweler monstrosities that many celebrities are fond of wearing.
 

Thurston

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The most expensive watch is the one you buy instead of the one you really want.

;~)
 

tom2517

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Originally Posted by edmorel
I wouldn't consider that a watch in the classic sense just a timepiece with a lot of diamonds. no different than a bracelet. A gentleman by the name of Lord Arran commisioned Franck Muller and Paul Gerber, two remarkable watchmakers, to make him the most complicated (chrono, EOT, tourbillon, couple of retrogrades etc. etc.) wristwatch in the world. The watch was completed about two years ago and it is an incredible watch and a remarkable study in micro engineering as it is actually wearable. I think it is insured/valued at around $5 million and that would make it one of the most expensive, if not the most expensive, modern wristwatch in the world. Obviously there are more expensive pieces, mostly Patek pocket watches, in the vintage market.

I totally agree. Watches that are expensive because of rare rocks are not interesting at all.
 

xarope

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Watch appreciation is about the movement, the case, geometry, design, dare I say, artistry in creating the entire object, not putting a bunch of diamonds on it to create value...
 

acidboy

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saw that chopard in forbes.com. the 2nd most expensive watch on their list is a "bling-free" watch:
2_1201feat.jpg
Named for the year Jehan-Jacques Blancpain opened his first factory, the shimmering 1735 boasts a half-dozen complications--two more than necessary to qualify as a "grand complication," and perhaps five more than you'll ever really need. But never mind. Within the ultra-slim, 42 mm platinum case--itself a complication, according to Blancpain's owner, the Swatch Group--the 1735 has a perpetual calendar, split-second chronograph, minute repeater, tourbillon and moon phase minder. It takes steady Swiss hands eight-to-ten months to piece together all 740 components, and only 18 out of a limited run of 30 watches have been assembled to date. With a crocodile strap and 80-hour power reserve, it'll wear well with just about anything--and for quite a while. ... and the 3rd i like best with its understated elegance (not that i'm planning to buy one in this lifetime...)
3_1201feat.jpg
Talk about inconspicuous consumption. The perfect timepiece for those who don't like to draw attention to themselves--or at least to their wrists--Vacheron Constantin's plain vanilla, manually wound Minute Repeater makes its statement in hushed tones. Though the sparkling white dial reveals only good ol' hours and minutes, the 36.5 mm, 18K yellow gold case harbors a mechanical minute repeater, first designed by Vacheron Constantin for Napoleon to let the little Emporer check the time on the battlefield without getting shot under torch light--or so the legend goes. There is also 34 hours of power reserve to spare. Sophisticated and gentleman's club classy all around.
 

RJman

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Forbes persists in creating these pornographic lists of "the most expensive" watches, shoes, suits, etc. which are utterly worthless and generally wrong. I suppose they have aspirational value to some target audience of theirs which wears a Tag Heuer with a bad suit.
 

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