In general, the more intricate a timepiece is, the more prestigious the creation becomes. However, fine watchmaking isn’t just about the number of features it has. There is an artistry and appearance that need to allow the owner to view and use the timepiece easily without being confused by too much clutter. Also, complicated timepieces need to conform to a reasonable size constraint. Even though many watches are becoming bigger, there is a limit to how big an owner would want.
The trend has also moved away from highly complicated watches because there is a far greater emphasis on the practicality of being able to do sports with the timepiece, and use the timepiece as a specific tool rather than as a Swiss Army Knife. This is why you have “Dive Watches” and “Dress Watches” and “Pilot’s Watches” and so on. Someone who wants to be super versatile might own 3, 5 or more watches in their collection.
Some watches also strive to be thinner than most. We see that with Audemars Piguet timepieces that have made great strides in not only adding complications, but making them thinner than ever before. Other watch owners also want to show off the beautiful designs by revealing the movement with an open faced back of the timepiece. Therefore the care in making a beautiful design for the revealed caliber becomes part of the overall motif when putting the design together. Just like an artist might sign each canvas, great watchmakers find a way to stamp their symbolic design, lettering, and artistry throughout the timepiece.
The other consideration that often holds highly complicated timepieces back is the fact that each watch must be assembled carefully and due to the far higher number of components, it will take far longer to assemble.
A typical highly complicated timepiece might take up to 6 months to complete. This drives up the cost of these timepieces, sometimes over $100,000, partly due to the time required to assemble, partly due to the amount of parts used to assemble it, and partly due to the limited number of fully assembled timepieces that could be made in that timespan.
So, let’s find out what the most complicated watches ever made are.
The Most Complicated Watches Ever Made
The Portuguieser Sidérale Scafusia Reference IW504101 is an amazing timepiece. Yes, it is a great looking watch by itself on the front. But it actually has a fully working star chart on the back side. Yet, it isn’t thicker than 17.5 mm even though it is packed with unique features. It miniaturizes the overwhelming scale of the cosmos down to your wrist.
It has a 46 mm platinum case. It is powered by an IWC-manufactured movement – the caliber 94900. It is hand wound but provides an amazing 96 hours of power reserve. It is built with sand blasted rhodium plating and has a huge amount of 56 jewels. It only beats at 18000 vph (2.5 hz).
Like most Portuguiesers it has a tourbillon with a perpetual calendar with leap year display. It has a power reserve display on the front at 4 and 5 o’clock, along with the sidereal time at the 12 o’clock position. The celestial chart on the back also shows the horizon, day, night and twilight, along with the ecliptic and celestial equator.
This is by far the most complex watch produced by IWC Schaffhausen. This is not just a timepiece but a personalized astronomical instrument which allows you to see the night sky from your own wrist. It shows more than 500 stars and constellations and adjusts for summer time and winter time. It actually predicts the times of sunrise and sunset.
The sidereal time on the front of the watch is a timekeeping system that astronomers use to locate celestial objects and where to point a telescope in the sky. Due to the massive complexity, this timepiece might sell for around $850,000 today.
The Harry Winston Opus 14 began its development in 2001 but was released in 2015. The timepiece is 54.7 mm, which is one of the largest timepieces made for the wrist. It spares no expense and is buitl with 18K gold. The local time appears in a dial at the 9 o’clock position.
It has several inspirations including the “Route 66” sign, the jukebox which has platters that play rock and roll music, and also the Hollywood walk of fame. These elements are clearly visible from the front side of the timepiece. When you press the pusher at 4 o’clock it activates a moving arm that picks the disk up and sets it to the platform to be read. You can select the GMT, function, the Date function or the walk of fame symbol. The push of the button will bring the platter of your choice to the 2-3 o’clock position. It is worth viewing this to believe its amazing workmanship in action.
It has two separate power reserves. One provides 68 hours of reserve for the standard time, and the other powers the rest of the GMT movement.
Built with 1,066 components, this is a very complex timepiece. It is limited to only 50 pieces, keeping this timepiece uniquely rare.
The Greubel Forsey Grande Sonnerie has 935 parts and is packed with features. It took 11 years to develop this timepiece. It has 3 modes which allows you to choose whether to (Grande Sonnerie) strike the hours and quarters as they pass, (Petitie Sonnerie) strike the hours only as they pass, and (Silence) where there is no sound at all. Sonnerie devices chime and is part of a long history of chiming watches from the 1800’s.
This timepiece has an acoustic resonance cage made from titanium that helps to project the sound of the timepiece. It is a manual winding timepiece. It has a minute repeater and has a supplementary stricking mechanism that allows you to chime the time on demand.
It has a 43.5mm case and is 16.13 mm high. It has a 72-hour power reserve and is actually water resistant to 100 feet. It beats at a frequency of 21,600 vibrations per hour. The hammer and gongs on the side are visible and produce a beautiful and loud sound. This timepiece will go for more than a million dollars, and is a priceless collector’s item.
The A. Lange & Söhne Grand Complication reference 912.032 is inspired by the pocketwatch made back in 1902. Appearing in 2013, the Grand Complication is a rattrapante chronograph which also has a flying seconds. Rattrapante means that it can time two separate splits at the same time. It is a rarity and much more complex than a standard chronograph mechanism.
It has a grand strike at the hour and small strikes at quarter hour intervals. The 3 dials in the top half of the timepiece indicate date, day of the week, month and leap year. It is built from a case of pink gold and has a brown leather band. The movement is a L1902 caliber referencing the pocketwatch made over 120 years ago. It is made with 876 parts and has 67 rubies and 7 gold chatons. It beats at 18000 oscillations per hour. The power reserve is 30 hours.
Due to the complexity, only one Grande Complication timepiece can be built per year, and only 6 will ever be built altogether. It is estimated that this timepiece would go for more than 2.3 million.
The caliber 300 movement consists of an alarm mechanism with a time strike including a silence mode. It has a date repeater, and even a four-digit year display.
Both sides of the watch are considered entire views of their own. Both show time displays. However, the reverse side has a full perpetual calendar with a 24 hour dial and the 4 digit year display.
It only has a 37mm size case even though it has 1366 parts and 108 jewels. It has a 72-hour power reserve and beats at 3.5 hz or 25,200 oscillations per hour. The timepiece has a rose gold case with beautiful handworking and a unique leather band. The timepiece is price at a monster $50 million pricetag.
The twin-dial Vacheron Constantine Celestia Astronomical Grand Complication 3600 combines astronomy and the watchmaking into a beautiful white gold timepiece which is easy to wear and delightful to look at. It tells time in civil, solar and sidereal. Built with 514 parts, this 6 barrel timepiece provides power for 3 weeks.
The Grand Complication is powered by a manual wind caliber 3600. It beats at 18000 vph and has 64 jewels. The case is from 18k white gold and the case is sized at 45 mm. It has slight waterproofness at 30 meters. The clasp is 18k whit gold pin buckle.
It has 23 complications. Besides the hours, minutes it has a perpetual calendar a day night indication and a precision moon phase. It has an age of the moon indication, running equation of time, sunrise and sunset time, and tells the day and night length. It tells the seasons, solstices, equinoxes, zodiacal signs and tide level indicator. It has a Sun – Earth – Moon conjunction indicator, opposition, and quadrature. It has a transparent sky chart of the northern hemisphere with Milky Way indicator. It shows the ecliptic and celestial equator. It also has a power reserve indicator. Sidereal time has a separate indicator as well.
The timepiece was released in 2017 at the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie in 2017 for 1 million.
The Jaeger-LeCoultre Hybris Mechanica Grande Sonnerie was 190 year culmination of the history of Jaeger-LeCoultre watchmaking. The minute repeater in this timepiece chimes the Westminster melody. Every component is decorated by hand using micropainting, enamelling and guilloche.
The Grande Sonnerie has 26 exquisite complications. It has the hour minute and seconds and the perpetural calendar function (Day, Date, Month and Leap Year). The chiming mechanism has 3 different chiming options. It also has a minute repeater which allows you to chime at any point in time telling you vocally what time it is. It also has two power reserve indicators.
The tourbillon balance wheel and escapement is visibile through the rear of the watch. It has an open-worked back and partially openworked front. Besides producing the entire Westminster melody with its chimes it has a silent mode and 2 other chiming options.
The amazing thing is the size of this case. It is only 45 mm even though it has 1300 parts. It is 15mm tall and JL uses every millimeter. The timepiece is selling for $2,500,000. Originally it comes with 2 other watches. See all three pictured above.
The Franck Muller Aeternitas Maga makes its stab at beign the most complicated watch ever made with 36 complications and 1483 components. It is a gorgeous timepiece and it shows the growth of the timepiece all the way up from various alternatives through the Mega which is packed full of features. The word Aeternitas is Latin for Eternity. Priced at 2.7 million the Mega 4 is not an inexpensive watch, but an absolute beauty for your collection.
The Patek Philippe Calibre 89 is a pocketwatch. However, it does have some extensive features. Created in 1989 to celebrate the company’s 150th anniversary it announced itself as the most complicated watch int he world. It has 24 hands and 1728 pieces.
It has a grand and petite sonnerie plus a minute repeater plaining a partial Westminster theme. It has the moon phase indicator, leap year indicator and power reserve. It has a thermomenter of all things. It shows the power reserve, leap year indicator, sunset, star chart, equation of time, and has a sun hand. It also tells the time of sunrise and the date of Easter.
It is made from 18 carat gold and is estimated at 6 million.
The Vacheron Constantin 57260 dethroned the above Patek Philippe as the most complicated timepiece with 57 complications in this beautiful white gold handheld timepiece. Introduced in 2015 this timepiece eclipses the 33 complications of the Patek Calibre 89. It took 8 years to assemble and has 2826 parts, 242 jewels 31 hands and is 98mm large. It beats at 18,000 vph and has a 60-hour power reserve.
It has a perpetual calendar, astrological calendar, Hebrew calendar, a lunar calendar and 6-time measurements. It even shows the religious calendar date for Yom Kippur. It has a 3-column wheel chronograph with 4 functions including split seconds. It has a 7 function alarm mechanism, and a Westminster carillion chime, with Grande Sonnerie, Petite Sonnerie, minute repeater and silence mode. it even has a night mode that keeps it from striking between 10 pm and 8 am.
This masterpiece is estimated to be priced over 10 million.
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