Wristwatch Auctioned for a Staggering 25.6 Billion Won... The Brand Worn by Son Heungmin

Third-Highest Auction Price Ever for a Wristwatch
Extremely Rare Due to Stainless Steel Construction

A wristwatch from the Swiss luxury watch brand Patek Philippe has been sold for 25.6 billion won. On November 10 (local time), several foreign media outlets, including The Straits Times and NDTV, reported that Patek Philippe's Perpetual Calendar Chronograph Reference 1518 was auctioned for 14.19 million Swiss francs (approximately 25.6 billion won) at a recent Geneva auction.

Patek Philippe's Perpetual Calendar Chronograph Reference 1518 watch. HODINKEE

This model from Patek Philippe surpassed its previous record of 11 million Swiss francs (about 19.8 billion won) set nine years ago, setting a new all-time high for the model. The most expensive wristwatch transaction in history remains the Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime, which was sold for 31 million dollars (about 45 billion won) in 2019. It is followed by actor Paul Newman's Rolex Daytona, which fetched 17.8 million dollars (25.8 billion won) at auction in 2017.

The Patek Philippe Perpetual Calendar Chronograph Reference 1518 model sold this time was produced in 1943. Most of these models were made with yellow gold cases, but only four were crafted in stainless steel, making them extremely rare. Among the four stainless steel pieces, this one is known to be the very first produced. It is also recognized as the first mass-produced wristwatch to feature both a perpetual calendar (which automatically displays the date, day, month, and leap year) and a chronograph (an analog stopwatch function) at the same time. Phillips, the auction house that managed the sale, described the watch as "a model with an almost mythical status, combining historical significance, design, technical innovation, and rarity."

Meanwhile, Patek Philippe is a brand often worn by famous sports stars and celebrities in Korea. Son Heungmin was spotted wearing the Patek Philippe Nautilus Blue Dial Moonphase model, which became a hot topic. Patek Philippe was first established by Polish nobleman Antoine de Patek and French-born watchmaker Jean Adrien Philippe, who settled in Switzerland in 1839. In 1932, the Stern family of Switzerland acquired the company, and it has remained under family management for four generations. Among luxury watch brands, Patek Philippe is considered to hold the highest status.

Patek Philippe, which strictly adheres to the principle of rarity, produces only a few hundred pieces of any given model at most. The brand is renowned for overseeing every step of the process, from design and parts manufacturing to assembly, finishing, and distribution. It is known to invest three to five years in developing its core component, the movement (the power mechanism), and to require at least 1,200 individual processes to complete each watch.