The world’s most expensive watch has been sold at a Christie’s charity auction in Switzerland.
The Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime, which is one of the most complex timepieces ever crafted was bought for £24.2million (N11.2B) by a private telephone bidder at the Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues in Geneva on Saturday (Nov.9), according to Mail Online.
The timepiece which was expected to sell for around £2million was bought for £24.2million, smashing the previous record of £13.5million held by a Rolex Daytona once owned by Hollywood star Paul Newman which sold in 2017.
It was also reported that all of the money raised from the sale of the world record watch is going to charity.
Sabine Kegel, the head of Christie’s watch department in Geneva, told The Guardian that the watch which features a patented reversible case which can be turned to show two dials, one in rose gold, the other in black ebony, ‘does nearly everything except making coffee.’
According to Kegel, the watch is loaded with four spring barrels to create 20 complications in watchmaking, this is any function that exists in addition to telling time and has five chiming modes.
The two chimes are also patented world firsts: an acoustic alarm which sounds at a preset time and a date repeater which can sound the date whenever the wearer wishes.
Describing the drama at the auction, Kegel said ‘there was such a great atmosphere in the room with standing ovations after each sale’.
It was also disclosed in the report that fifty of the watches specially created for the charity sale which included the record-breaker, raised £30.23million for research into Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
In a statement, the Only Watch founder Luc Pettavino, said: ‘Breaking records is obviously a source of pride and happiness. What a beautiful moment and emotion shared together!’
‘What matters most today is the difference we are going to be able to make in research against muscular dystrophies and for hundreds of thousands of patients and families around the world for their lives to get better.’