"Time Is Money. The Most Expensive Watches."
Posting by Father Time
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 November 2, 2007
In case you haven't noticed, it'll soon be gift-giving time again. To those of you still struggling to find that perfect something for that special someone--even yourself--we'd like to offer some, ahem, timely advice. There are few more desirable, or desired, possessions than a fine timepiece. If the person you are thinking of this holiday season has been exceptionally good--and by that we mean had a platinum-selling album, brought in a multimillion dollar deal, named you to the board of a major foundation or gave birth to triplets--then they might themselves unwrapping an exceptionally good, and exceptionally expensive, watch this year.
Some people might consider luxury watches an extravagance, but for many, luxury designer watches are a perfect way to show off their riches. A luxury watch usually says a lot about the monetary and social status of its owner. If you love to spend your hard-earned money on luxury designer watches, here are some of the world's most expensive watches, which you would like to add to your luxury watch collection.
While many watchmakers make most of their profits from bread-and-butter product lines--which, at the higher-end levels, tend to retail in the $5,000 range--many of the top-end brands also offer watches that cost well into six figures. These include mechanical men's watches laden with grande complications or ladies' watches dripping with jewels from premier Swiss watchmakers such as Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin, Girard-Perregaux and the like. Oh, they're going to cost you--$200,000 per easily, and much, much more if you really want to splurge. But the gift you'll be giving is as timeless, intricate and impressive as they come--even if it ends up under lock and key, as such timepieces tend to do.
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Double Tourbillon Manfacturer: Breguet
Price: US $329,000
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The creation of very expensive and very intricate watches is a long tradition within the relatively brief history of the industry, which really only got going in the latter half of the 19th century. During World War I wristwatches became popular with military officers and soon watchmakers such as Cartier and Patek Philippe began marketing limited edition and steeply priced models expressly for the connoisseurs' market. And it didn't take long for others to follow.
Go looking for an exorbitantly expensive wristwatch, and what will you find? On the men's side, it's complications and plenty of 'em, including chronograph functions for timing laps, moon phase indicators for tracking slices of the lunar pie, and perpetual calendar functions which track days, months and even years for centuries--as if you really need a watch to tell you that. The new Grande Complication by Jean Dunand really packs them in with a mono-pusher split-second chronograph, split-second hand isolator, minute repeater, tourbillon, bi-retrograde perpetual calendar, and even a see-through sapphire back signed by its creator, Christophe Claret. Marketed by Swiss manufacturer World Premiere Watchmaking as "one of the five most complicated wrist watches in the world," the Grande Complication is certainly one of the most expensive, with a limited edition of six--three in 18K rose gold, two in 18K white gold, one in platinum--ranging $700,000 to $800,000 per. Alas, the first specimens haven't quite been shipped yet, and so couldn't be included on our list.
Excerpted from Forbes.com READ MORE HERE.
Images Proivided by: Bornrich.org Click here for more images.
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Big Bang chronograph Watchmaker: Hublot, Bunter SA
Price: US $1 milllion
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Classical Billionaire Tourbillion Watchmaker: Corum
Price: US $998,000
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