No. 34. Tag Heuer – Monaco V4



Price: $80,000

The most important TAG Heuer watch ever produced – The Monaco V4 in platinum – one of 150 pieces. Taking six years of further development (including work from the legendary Jean Phillipe Dufour) from the presentation of the original prototype, the innovative and technically challenging automatic ‘V’ calibre is truly ground-breaking. The V4 is designed around the engine of a high performance sports car, using materials, techniques and ideas never before seen or implemented in watchmaking. The traditional wheel and pivot based going train has been replaced by a series of high tensile belts, breathing a uniquely industrial spirit into the watch, it was this belt system that proved the toughest technical hurdle to clear. The automotive DNA runs through to the rear of the movement which is also where this Monaco gets its name, the four barrels are laid out to match the configuation of a four cyinder engine, whilst the unique ‘vertical slide rotor’ utilises a solid ingot of ultra-dense Tungsten. A unique piece of horological history, this watch will certainly stand out in any serious watch collection, presented with original V4 polished wooden box, instructions, certificate and two year warranty.

No. 33. JeanRichard – Paramount Tourbillon Linear Power Reserve



Price: $128,000

The power reserve is indicated in linear fashion, repeating the innovation presented in 2005 on the Paramount Square model. The challenge was to combine the Tourbillon with a power reserve with a linear indicator, all inserted in a 36 x 36 mm case. The watchmakers opted technically to move the power reserve from 4.30 o’clock to 10 o’clock, thereby making space for the Tourbillon cage. This change in the power reserve location also forced the watchmakers to develop a conical train differential mechanism, replacing the flat differential and creating the space required to attach it to the barrel located at 12 o’clock. An ingenious rack system (straight moving part fitted with teeth) was developed to transmit the power reserve in a linear fashion.

No. 32. Glashütte Original – Julius Assmann 4 in white gold



Price: $161,000

This watch from Glashütte Original was released on the market in 2007 and it features a unique retrograde hour display and tourbillon. It can be worn as a wristwatch or pocket watch and it’s also offered in “cheaper” versions in rose gold or red gold for $145,000.

No. 31. Porsche Design – Indicator P’6910



Price: $225,000

Once again Porsche Design has set a new milestone in watchmaking: The Porsche Design P’6910 Indicator combines chronograph functions with a genuinely mechanical jumping digital display. Even at a quick glance the stop hours, minutes and seconds can be captured with absolute certainty up to a total stoppage time of 9:59 hours. This absolute innovation in the area of mechanical watches is made possible by the most complex commercial wristwatch movement in the world that does its work inside this extraordinary timepiece.

No. 30. Panerai – L’Astronomo Luminor Tourbillon 1950 Equation of Time



Price: $235,000

The Panerai Luminor 1950 Tourbillon Equation of Time Watch has a black dial and brown alligator bracelet strap. It has a tang clasp type and features manual-winding movement. The case is made of titanium and measures 50 millimeters in diameter and 17 millimeters in thickness. Power reserve can last up to four days. The watch is water-resistant up to a distance of 100 meters. Other features include a tourbillon, fully protected crown-lock mechanism and anti-glare sapphire crystal.

No. 29. Breitling – Grande Complication



Price: $280,716

It is not the typical wrist-watch as it is a pocket watch with an eye-popping price of $280,700, thus the name: Grande. The owners of these one-of-a-kind timepieces can feel like they are living in the era where pocket watches were in fashion, only this time, with the best technology there is for luxury watches. This model is made up of 700 distinct parts and is fully functional. It has a minute striker, perpetual calendar, and moon phases. Its case is made of 18 carat yellow gold which features the engraving of one of Breitling’s partners and Bentley Motors founder, Walter Owen Bentley.

No. 28. IWC – Grande Complication



Price: $318,000

This watch features a perpetual calendar with a moon phase. It also has a minute repeater and chronograph with automatic movement. Only 50 pieces are produced each year. It boasts of 659 parts in a platinum case and bracelet. It also has a crown-activated rapid calendar advance.

No. 28. Hublot Ferrari



Price: $318,000

This is again on No. 28 because there is a tie between Hublot Ferrari and IWC – Grande Complication. Hublot has created a limited edition Ferrari watch that costs more than most of the actual cars. For the bargain price of $318,000, brand fans can wrap the MP-05 LaFerrari watch around their wrists. Compared to the million-dollar-plus LaFerrari supercar, the Hublot Ferrari watch seems like a bargain.

Hublot designed the MP-05 LaFerrari watch to show appreciation for its association with the Ferrari brand. The watch is quite complex, much like a Ferrari. It features 637 individual components, a tourbillon, and can function for 50 days with no power. The watch sort of resembles a supercar engine, which is pretty cool.

No. 27. Concord – C1 Tourbillon Gravity



Price: $320,000

When Concord released the C1 Quantum Gravity Tourbillon in 2008, many people believed it signalled what the future of high-end watchmaking would look like. It was a time of rapid modernisation in the watch industry, in both talent, and perceptions of what high-end collectors wanted to buy. There was less focus on traditionally conservative design, and a great deal of experimentation with what were, in the context of the often staid high-end watch industry, quite radical designs. In many ways the C1 Quantum Gravity Tourbillon helped define an era.

While the “Quantum-inspired” super-watch era never replaced a preference for traditional designs, projects like the C1 Quantum Gravity Tourbillon have had a lasting effect on what modern luxury timepieces strive to be.

Under the Movado group, Concord was “re-launched” only shortly before they released the C1 Quantum Gravity Tourbillon. The brand eschewed much of its traditional DNA, instead opting for a futuristic industrial look, which reached its zenith in this particular timepiece. The movement of the Quantum Gravity is a feat unto itself, in addition to the overall case design. Concord worked with the hottest movement maker of the era, a firm known as BNB Concept, to develop the mechanism inside the watch. Heavy on conceptualisation, the movement features a bi-axial tourbillon (spins on two axis points at once), connected to the rest of the movement with tiny suspension-bridge-style wires. A small cylinder of green liquid is located on the dial, which empties and fills as a means of indicating the power reserve left in the mechanical movement.

The easiest way of understanding the point of the C1 Quantum Gravity Tourbillon is to realise that it helped fully legitimise modern conceptual futuristic design as having a place in the high-end watch industry. Whatever it lacked in elegance, it made up for in inventiveness.

Concord fully acknowledges that the movement was designed separately from the case, something common at the time, when both elements of the watch had distinct appeal to collectors. In mostly titanium and 18k white gold, the C1 Quantum Gravity Tourbillon watch even relied on vulcanised black rubber as a case material and design element. Only 10 pieces were ever produced.

No. 26. Montblanc – Grand Tourbillon Heures Mysterieuses



Price: $365,750

This super-expensive watch is the second costliest watch from Montblanc, having a platinum case, a gold dial and alligator leather strap.

The watch is wounded by hand, and the display is made of black metallic hands on sapphire discs.

Cheaper versions of this watch are available: the 18 carat white gold at $319.000 (8 pieces) and the 18 carat red gold version at $302.500 (8 pieces).

No. 25. The Urwerk Zeit Device 1001



Price: $400,000

A Pocket watch Uwerk Zeit Device UR-1001 can run for 1000 years and costs $400,000. The UR-1001 is made of a steel body with modern marvel and 51 jewels. The watch runs with the help of gears and a set of cubes to display month, date and year and also sports a day/night indicator. Most of the watches doesn’t change the date automatically between months with 30 days and months with 31 days, but UR-1001 has been programmed to change the date perfectly. But yes, 28 days in February is the only month where you have to adjust the date, means only once in a year.

The watch measures 4.17 inches x 2.44 inches x 0.9 inches and there is a 100 year dial at the back; when the watch hits 100 years, a second linear calendar counts centuries up to full millennium.

The UR-1001 doesn’t self-wind and a single wind can only run the watch for 39 hours. It features a red warning indicator that reminds the owner to wind.

No. 24. Chopard – Secret



Price: $508,000

The Chopard Secret has a pave set diamond dial and square frame. The case is encrusted with brilliant, square and baguette-cut diamonds that weigh 19 carats. The strap is made of satin and boasts of a clasp made of baguette-cut diamond. Only two pieces of this model have been made.

No. 23. A. Lange & Söhne – Tourbograph “Pour le Mérite”



Price: $508,900

The TOURBOGRAPH “Pour le Mérite” is an exceptional ex-pression of micromechanical virtuosity. It is the very first wristwatch in the history of horology that unites a fusée-and-chain transmission, a tourbillon, and a rattrapante chronograph mechanism. Its movement reflects the ultimate degree of precision watchmaking ingenuity.