HODINKEE Watches the Patek Philippe Henry Graves Jr. Supercomplication Sell for $24 Million USD at Sotheby's

Earlier this month, American banker and watch collector Henry Graves’ Patek Philippe Supercomplication — a design commissioned by Graves back in 1933 specifically to unseat rival James Ward Packard as the owner of the most complicated watch in the world — went up for auction at Sotheby’s for the second time. Originally sold to Sheik Saud Bin Mohammed Bin Ali Al-Than of the Qatari Royal Family, the piece garnered $11 million USD when it was sold back in 1999 — thus making it the most expensive timepiece on Earth. This time around? The 70mm, 1-pound, 24-complication behemoth shattered its expected estimate of $15 million USD, ultimately going for a whopping $24 million USD to Phillips’ Aurel Bacs — the former head of the watch department at Christie’s. As you might expect, the experts over at HODINKEE were on hand in Geneva to document the whole thing, even offering up a look inside the auction hall for the record-setting sale.

You can watch the supercomplication go under the hammer above while a hands-on look at the design and its history can be found over at HODINKEE’s site.