Google for the world’s most expensive watch and you get a variety of answers, because it depends on whether you include vintage watches, unique pieces like the Patek Philippe Henry Graves Supercomplication — made in 1925 and last sold at auction for $24 million — or the Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime in steel, which hammered at $31 million at the Only Watch charity auction in 2019.
What you do not tend to find are production pieces, available at retail, with eight-figure price tags.
That makes a new diamond-encrusted timepiece from Jacob & Co a new contender for the world’s most expensive watch, which is being promoted with a price tag of $20,000,000.
Horologically, the latest Jacob & Co Billionaire Timeless Treasure watch is unremarkable, housing a skeleton Jacob & Co hand wound JCAM39 movement powering hours, minutes and a one minute tourbillon.
The value is in the gem setting, with 217 carats of yellow diamonds covering every surface of the watch and its bracelet.
These 425 gems in Fancy Yellow and Fancy Intense Yellow color give way to a row of green tsavorites framing the skeletonized dial.
The Billionaire skeleton tourbillon movement is also adorned with another 57 yellow baguette-cut diamonds.
Only one is being made.
“We’ve browsed the entire world for three and a half years in search of an unprecedented number of perfect gems, says CEO Benjamin Arabov.
“We’ve gathered them here, in our Geneva headquarters, where each one was scrutinised at rough stage, at cut stage, before and after setting.
“The incredible work done by our gem setters happened entirely here, in Geneva. We’ve combined our expertise in high jewelry with our skills in high watchmaking and used our drive to achieve what has never been done before.
“So we’ve created a unique piece that outshines every other high jewellery timepiece in opulence, exclusivity and diamond quality,” Mr Arabov concludes.
This is not the first Billionaire watch from Jacob & Co.
The first, also smothered in diamonds, was released in 2015 and priced at $18 million.
Adjusted for inflation, you might say that was more expensive than this year’s Billionaire Timeless Treasure.
