10 Luxury Watch Brands That Are More Expensive Than ROLEX
Hello again! Alex Aires here. It's great to have you back with us in a video in which we'll be helping you build your knowledge of watches. And not just any old watches; we're talking about ones at the seriously high end of the scale. Ask most people today about a luxury watch brand, and the chances are they'll name Rolex. It's come to be associated with class and exclusivity, and those who wear it are seen as high achievers.
That's partly down to Rolex's very effective marketing. But ask someone who really knows their luxury timepieces, and they'll tell you that watches get a lot more exclusive than Rolex. And it's these ones we are looking at today on our list of pricey timepieces, mostly from Switzerland, that you'll need to empty a Swiss bank account to buy.
Before we get started, let's set a benchmark and ask: how much does a Rolex cost? Of course, there's a wide range of prices, and the more exclusive Rolex models reach a half a million dollars at dealer prices. If you stay with us until the end, you'll find out about one of the highest prices ever paid for a Rolex. But their least expensive model is the Oyster Perpetual, priced at $5,400, which means that all the brands we've chosen here have starting prices above that. And as you'll see, some of them are way above it. So if you've got one of these on your wrist, it marks you out as a bit more exclusive than a Rolex owner.
Welcome to a Luxe.com, the place where future billionaires come to get inspired. If you're not subscribed yet, you're missing out! Ready to get started? Then let's dive in and take a look at ten watches that are more expensive than Rolex.
1. Dubli
Starting price: $6,900. Known for collaborations with Pirelli and Lamborghini and founded relatively recently in 1995, this Swiss watchmaker is known for precise mechanics and truly amazing craftsmanship. Their chunky masculine look brings to mind the high-performance mechanics of a supercar.
Take a look at the Molasses I'm a Double Flag Derby. Only 88 were created, and it's one of the most accurate watches ever made, selling at $263,000. If that isn't high-end enough for you, you could buy one of their watches over the million-dollar mark. Perhaps the Excalibur Quatuor - it's made entirely of silicon, which has half the weight of titanium but four times the durability, and one of these will set you back $1,125,000.
2. P.H.
Starting price: $7,000. They've been making watches since 1874 in the Swiss Jura mountains, and their history means they're considered one of the Holy Trinity of classic watchmakers. More about the other two later. They're known for the world's thinnest watches to use the Tourbillon mechanism, which is found in seriously high-end timepieces. In 1957, they introduced the Altiplano Calibre 9P, which was just over 4 millimeters thick.
They're also known for their incredibly thin skeleton watches, in which all the moving parts are visible through the front and sometimes the back. The Piaget Altiplano White Gold Ultra-Thin Skeleton watch, at 5.34 millimeters, is the thinnest self-winding skeleton watch in the world. It comes with silver and gold parts and sells for over $16,000.
3. Breguet
Starting price: $7,000. This is one of the few French brands you can find in the ranks of the most exclusive watchmakers. Among their past glories, they can list the invention of the tourbillon mechanism as well as the first wristwatch. Yes, if it weren't for Breguet, we'd still be carrying watches in our pockets.
One of the most expensive watches in the world is a Breguet Grand Complication Marie Antoinette. This ultra-luxurious pocket watch was commissioned for Marie Antoinette. Although it took 40 years to make it, which meant that by the time it was finished, its intended owner had been sent to the scaffold by the French revolutionaries. It's been nicknamed "a poem in clockwork" and contains gold, platinum, rubies, and sapphires, and it's valued at $30 million. If you think that's stretching it a bit too far for a watch, you could go for a classic 5140, which sells for $19,000 or splash out on a classic Grand Complication Tourbillon for $400,000.
4. Blancpain
Starting price: $7,500. Founded in 1735, Blancpain is the oldest luxury watch manufacturer in the world. They pride themselves on the fact that they've never made quartz watches and never will. Back in 2016, they hit the headlines when one of their watches sold at auction for $225,000: the Marilyn Monroe Cocktail Watch.
As well as being a dazzling timepiece, it got extra attention for having belonged to Marilyn herself. And who was the buyer? The Blancpain company themselves, who were eager to reclaim one of their most famous creations. Since then, it's taken pride of place as an exhibit in some of their flagship stores around the world. They've also released ultra-limited edition replicas of the Marilyn Monroe Cocktail Watch, which sells for $36,000. The men's watches include Fifty Fathoms, which is a bargain in comparison, at $10,500.
5. Audemars Piguet
Starting price: $7,000. The next brand on our list was founded in 1875 by Jules Louis Audemars and Edward Piguet. They were inspired by the natural beauty of the Vallée de Joux in Switzerland. One of the company's most memorable timepieces today came a century later in 1972: the Royal Oak wristwatch.
It's regarded as the world's first luxury sports watch, giving chunky sports watches a high-end makeover. An updated version, the Royal Oak Offshore, was introduced 20 years later and has an even bigger face. One that's found super-rich fans like Jay Z and shifted trends in the watch world. Their most expensive watch is the Royal Oak Complication, selling at $869,000.
It has an 18-karat gold exterior and a transparent sapphire case on the back so you can see the mechanism as you'd expect, with plenty of jewels embedded into it. And thanks to its perpetual calendar, wearers will be able to keep their time perfectly until the year 2100.
6. Patek Philippe
Starting price: $15,000. The next name on our list is known as another of the Holy Trinity of classic watchmakers. They've been a longtime favorite of royal families and have a history going all the way back to 1839. They invented the first watch you could wind up without using a key. Yes, before these guys came along, you would have to use a detachable key to wind up your watch.
Their most expensive watch, the Henry Graves Complication, sold for $11 million at auction. It's made of 18-carat gold and has twenty-four complications; that’s the term watchmakers use to call mechanical functions. These included a perpetual calendar as well as sunrise and sunset times – pretty much like your smartphone, only that this watch was crafted well before the first smartphone in 1933.
It even has a celestial map of the skies above the New York apartment of its original owner, Henry Graves. But if you'd like to buy one of their more affordable models, you could go for their Nautilus range, which sells for $30,000, although it still isn't that available as there's a waiting list of up to eight years.
7. A. Lange & Söhne
Starting price: $15,000. These ultra high-end watchmakers are the only German brand on the list. They even had to shut down production for 40 years when they found themselves in the eastern part of Germany after the Second World War. Happily, they went back to business in 1990. Their logo is "state of the art tradition," and tradition definitely shines through as they're known for avoiding designs that are too flashy but instead going for old-school understated elegance.
Their Grand Complication watch, unveiled in 2013, has functions that include a grand sonnerie and a small sonnerie. In everyday English, that’s a big chime for the hours and a small chime for the halves and quarters, along with a perpetual calendar and display of moon phases. The assembly and adjustment are so complicated that they only make one of these models a year.
8. Vacheron Constantin
Starting price: $18,000. These classy horologists, who have been in business since 1755, are the third name on the Holy Trinity of classic watchmakers. In their earlier days, they introduced the first known watch that displayed days and dates. For their two hundred and fiftieth anniversary, they created their Tour de l’Île watch.
It had so many displays that needed two faces, both made from 18-karat gold. Of course, it displays a second timezone, a perpetual calendar, and a sunset time indicator, making it one of the most complicated watches ever made. With one of these, who needs a smartphone? But as you've probably guessed, it costs quite a bit more than your smartphone at $1,538,000.
In 2015, they made a one-off model, the reference 56 720, which currently holds the record for the most complicated mechanical watch, with 57 horological complications. That's more complications than Charlie Sheen's relationship status! The price it went for was undisclosed; however, it's believed it was over ten million dollars.
9. F.P. Journe
Starting price: $25,000. The last two names on our list don't have as much history as most others, but they sure make up for it in elegance, precision of their mechanisms, and, you guessed it, price. This one was founded in 1999 by François Paul Journe. This Swiss horologist is fascinated by watchmaking from the 18th century, which he calls "the golden age of time measurement."
The age-old elegance is plain to see in the watches he makes. Their cases, dials, hands, and movements are all made of solid gold. Take a look at the Chronometer Blue. Its deep blue color comes from repeated layers of blue lacquer, each applied by hand and then polished to a mirror finish before applying the next one. When you're wearing it, the gold mechanism isn't visible, but take it off and look at the back, and you can behold this wonder of watchmaking through the transparent back. This one costs $25,000.
The most expensive watch is the Jean A. Moinat Split Second Chronograph. It looks like an even fancier version of the Chronometer Blue. It was a one-off for charity and sold for $1,167,000 back in 2017.
10. Richard Mille
Starting price: $80,000. As you can see, we've now reached the ultra-expensive timepieces that are out of bounds to all but the highest spenders. Richard Mille created his own brand in 1999. While prices start at $80,000, many of them go up to ten times that, to $800,000. The brand's slogan is “a racing machine on the wrist.”
That's because Mille spent years analyzing how to use components in yachts, Formula One cars, and airplanes in watchmaking. It explains why you'll find components made of carbon nanofiber and features like a G-force sensor. Brand ambassadors include Rafael Nadal. He made headlines when he was seen wearing Mille watches in tournament tennis matches and had people questioning how he could get his strokes right while wearing one of these.
What they didn't know is that the model he was wearing, the RM 0:06, only weighs 20 grams, despite looking bulky. Formula One driver Felipe Massa was wearing a Mille watch when his car crashed into a tire barrier in 2009 at the Hungary Grand Prix. Massa suffered serious injuries; luckily, he recovered. But the watch he was wearing was undamaged. You can recognize the brand from its distinctive barrel shape. This means all of its components are curved, which makes them even more difficult and expensive to make. Forbes says buying one is like buying a miniature sports car for the wrist. They've also been nicknamed "the billionaire's handshake."
Here we are at the end! We hope you enjoy this list of watch brands that are more expensive than Rolex. But now what we really like to know is which of these would you most like to have on your own wrist? Let us know in the comments.
And for sticking with us until the end, here's your bonus! It seems to be a bit unfair to get to the bottom of this list and not give Rolex some kind of nod. Sure, as we've just shown, they're not the most expensive brand out there, but there's no doubt they're still very classy. So we thought we would finish with a look at their most expensive watch ever sold: Paul Newman's 1968 Rolex Daytona.
It sold at auction in 2017 for a whopping $17.8 million. It once belonged to the Hollywood leading man and was a gift from his wife, Joanne Woodward. Its appeal comes from its connections with the world of film and motor racing, as Newman was a racing enthusiast, even getting behind the wheel himself. And of course, he liked watches. It has an unusual dial design, and the model was named the "Paul Newman" because he was often seen wearing it.
Newman later gave the watch to his daughter's boyfriend, James Cox, who was the seller in the auction, which took place a decade after Newman passed away. Cox went on to donate a large portion of the proceeds to a number of charities that were close to Newman's heart.
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