The Most Expensive Audemars Piguet Watches
All Audemars Piguet watches are expensive, but there are a few things that can push prices into the stratosphere: multiple high complications, extreme rarity, historical provenance, and copious amounts of gems. When an AP fits into more than one of those categories, the prices tend to get crazy. In this guide to the most expensive Audemars Piguet watches in the world, we’ll go beyond simple auction results and look at some current-production monsters and priceless historical watches too.
Most Expensive Audemars Piguet Auction Result: Grosse Pièce
Most recent auction price (2025): $7,736,000
Ordered in 1914 and completed in 1921, the Audemars Grosse Pièce is one of the most expensive pocket watches in the world. The London-based watchmaker S. Smith & Sons, which has since evolved into an engineering firm known as the Smiths Group, had requested it on behalf of a wealthy client.
Like the Universelle made over two decades earlier (more on that in a minute), the Grosse Piece sports 19 complications. But many of the complications are different. Let’s break down the functions of the Grosse Piece:
| Function | Complications/Explanation |
|---|---|
| Sidereal time | Sidereal hours, sidereal minutes (the typical 24-hour scale is based on the Earth’s rotation relative to the sun, but sidereal time is relative to distant stars, resulting in a day length of 23 hours, 56 minutes and 4 seconds). |
| Equation of time | Displays the difference between apparent solar time (sun’s peak = noon) and mean solar time (the concept behind what we would now call “standard time”) |
| Tourbillon | Rotates the escapement and balance assembly once per minute to average out gravity-related positional errors |
| Perpetual calendar | Perpetual calendar with date, day, month, and leap year indicators |
| Celestial sky chart | Depicts the night sky visible from London |
| Lunar indications | Moon age, moonphase |
| Chronograph | 12-hour counter, 60-minute counter, central 60-second counter |
| Grande et Petite Sonnerie | Strikes hours in passing, and/or quarters, silent mode available |
| Minute repeater | Sounds the hours, quarters and minutes on demand |
| Power reserve indicator | Remaining power reserve is indicated inside the same subdial as the moonphase at 12 o’clock |
Most Expensive 19th-Century Audemars Piguet: The Original Universelle
Fair market value: ~$3-10 million
The original Universelle was branded as a Union Glashütte watch, although Audemars Piguet made the movement using a Louis Elisée Piguet base ébauche (no relation to the Piguet in Audemars Piguet) in 1899. It takes 1,168 parts to achieve its 19 complications. It was AP’s most complicated 19th-century creation.
Compared with the Grosse Pièce, the 1899 Universelle lacks the one-minute tourbillon and London celestial sky chart. But it has an alarm with a minutes indicator, split-seconds (rattrapante) chronograph functionality, a foudroyante, and deadbeat seconds.
A foudroyante (“like lightning”) is a seconds hand that makes a full rotation every second. This is designed to make the fractions-of-a-second clearly readable, but it’s very energy-intensive and difficult to engineer efficiently.
British collector Marcus Margulies bought the Universelle at Sotheby’s in 1993 and, in an unfortunate modernization carried out in 2001, replaced its rose gold case with platinum and commissioned a dial bearing his own name and a modern AP logo. AP has since acquired it for its museum and returned it to its original case.
Most Expensive Modern Audemars Piguet: 150 Heritage Ultra-Complication Universal Calendar
2026 list price: ~$3 million
The Audemars Piguet 150 Heritage ref. 75150 is a hand-engraved pocket watch whose hand-wound Calibre 1150 combines a grande sonnerie, minute repeater, split-seconds flyback chronograph, perpetual calendar, flying tourbillon and more. It has a total of 1,099 pieces and 22 complications. Its standout feature, arguably, is its separate Universal Calendar inside the caseback, which brings solar and lunar cycles together in one mechanical display.
The “150” represents the brand’s 150th anniversary, although it was released among the 2026 Audemars Piguet releases closer to their 151st anniversary. Only 10 examples will be made: two in platinum, eight in white gold.
Royal Oak 5402ST A1 Serial
Fair market value: ~$2-6 million
The second Royal Oak ever made, ref. 5402ST with serial number A2, sold for over a million Swiss francs at auction. So we can only speculate what A1 would sell for, assuming its condition is decent. Its whereabouts are not publicly known. Note that the “A1” serial is different than the case number, which would be a 5-digit number.
More on the AP Royal Oak:
Jules Louis Audemars Apprenticeship Masterpiece
Fair market value: ~$2-6 million
In 1875, when he was just 24 years old, Audemars Piguet co-founder Jules Louis Audemars finished his apprenticeship masterpiece. It’s a pocket watch that combines three impressive complications: a perpetual calendar, a quarter repeater, and deadbeat seconds.
Mechanical deadbeat seconds watches (where the seconds hand ticks only once per second) are quite difficult to engineer robustly, because a small auxiliary spring has to store and release energy every second. And although a quarter repeater–which chimes the hours and quarter-hours on command–isn’t quite as exotic as a full-blown minute repeater, any chiming complication is a significant horological achievement as well.
Combining both of those things with a perpetual calendar, given its extreme historical significance, makes this watch basically “priceless.” If it were to actually come up for sale, though, I’d probably set the estimate around $2-8 million.
Coussin Tortue Monopusher
Most recent auction result: $2.74 million (Christie’s, 2026)
The “Coussin Tortue” monopusher chronograph below, in addition to having an appealing and relatively uncommon case shape, sold for $2.74 million at a 2026 Christie’s auction largely because it was one of the first three AP chronograph wristwatches ever made.
If other ultra-early AP chronographs ever get unearthed, they’re likely to fetch huge auction prices too.
Most Expensive Audemars Piguet Watches Made This Decade: Spider-Man and Black Panther Royal Oak Concept Unique Pieces
Fair Market Value: $1.5-4 million each
The Royal Oak Concept is AP’s high-concept, sporty and futuristic take on the Royal Oak. Most Concepts sell for between $100,000 and $300,000 pre-owned, and there’s a Spider-Man version that sells right in the middle of that range. But there’s a one-of-one Black Spider-Man version that sold for $6.2 million at a 2023 charity auction:
Two years earlier, another unique piece, the Royal Oak Concept “Black Panther” Flying Tourbillon, sold for $5.2 million. Its white gold uniquely-engraved case sets it apart from the regular 250-piece Black Panther limited edition.
It’s worth noting that those sale prices were likely inflated both by the charity aspect of the auctions where they were sold, and by how hot the market was at the time. Still, if you were to actually sell these watches today, I bet you’d have no problem getting $2 million each.
The Most Expensive Audemars Piguet Code 11.59: Ultra-Complication Universelle RD#4
Fair market value: $1.3 million – $2.5 million
Introduced in 2023, the Audemars Piguet Code 11.59 Ultra-Complication Universelle RD#4, model 26398, debuted in either white gold or pink gold. Launch prices were CHF 1.45 million for closed-dial models and CHF 1.6 million for openworked versions.
The Universelle combines a striking watch, an advanced perpetual calendar, a split-seconds flyback chronograph and a flying tourbillon in its automatic Calibre 1000. AP quotes 40 functions, including 23 complications, with the grande et petite sonnerie arguably being the highlight.
More on Audemars Piguet:
The Shah’s White Gold Royal Oak
Fair market value: ~$1-3 million
In 1970, two years before the Royal Oak officially debuted, AP ordered four white gold prototype cases from their supplier Favre-Perret. AP says only one was fitted with a movement, and it ended up being owned by the Shah of Iran. The Royal Oak was originally offered only in stainless steel, so this was not only the first white gold Royal Oak, but the first solid gold Royal Oak period.
Unfortunately the original case was badly damaged and the watch was re-cased by AP in 1980. If it were still original, the Shah’s Royal Oak would probably sell for a preposterous amount, but even in its current state I think it could easily sell for a million bucks or more. Even regular production first-generation white gold Royal Oaks (ref. 5402BC, only 150 made), which debuted in 1977, can go for a quarter-million dollars today.
John Shaefer Minute Repeater
Fair market value: ~$1-3 million
American petrochemical tycoon John Shaefer had his platinum Audemars Piguet minute repeater wristwatch customized in 1927, with the letters of his name acting as the hour markers.
Audemars Piguet even launched a line of high-end watches named after John Shaefer in the mid 1990s with a similar case shape, and those can sell for $200,000 or more today. The actual John Shaefer watch, which resides in AP’s museum, would almost certainly fetch seven figures at auction today.
Genta’s Personal Royal Oak
Most recent auction result: $2.12 million (Sotheby’s 2022)
Gérald Genta, the designer of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, Patek Philippe Nautilus, and countless other important watches, personally wore a Royal Oak 5402ST with a custom yellow gold bezel. It sold for over $2 million in 2022.
2021 Only Watch Royal Oak
Fair Market Value: $1-3 million
The 39mm Royal Oak “Jumbo” Extra-Thin ref. 15202XT.GG.1240XT.99 sports a sandblasted titanium case and bracelet accented by a polished Bulk Metallic Glass bezel and bracelet links. It’s a unique piece made for the 2021 Only Watch auction, and it ended up selling for $3.4 million. I doubt it would sell for that price today, though.
Rare 39mm Royal Oak Perpetual Calendars
Fair market value: $1.5 – 3 million
Some of the most expensive Audemars Piguet watches from the 1980s through the early 2000s are ultra-limited (often one-of-one) iced-out 39mm Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar models. Only two examples of ref. 25917 were made in 2001, for instance. I wouldn’t expect either one to have any trouble hitting the seven-figure mark today:
There’s also the 25688 from 1989, which should sell for even more not only because it’s a unique piece, but because baguettes are much more expensive/difficult to pave jewelry with than round diamonds:
And there’s also the stunning openworked 25659. Only one was made in platinum, and three were made in yellow gold:
Another one of my favorite 39mm Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar models is a unique piece with an openworked dial and a guilloche bezel, ref. 25775. There was also a one-of-one non-openworked version, ref. 25773.
Royal Oak Selfwinding Rainbow Sets
Fair market value: $800,000 – $1.25 million per watch
Audemars Piguet unveiled two sets of ten unique gem-set Royal Oaks in 2022–one in 37mm and the other in 41mm. The Royal Oak Selfwinding Rainbow Sets are absolutely slathered in gems (each watch within the set is covered in one color of gem) and because every watch is a unique piece, each one probably has a fair market value in the $1 million ballpark.
Most-Expensive Modern Gem-Set Audemars Piguet Royal Oak: “Chandelier”
Fair market value: $1 million – $1.25 million
The Audemars Piguet nickname “Chandelier” refers to ref. 15417, and it’s not hard to see why. 436 baguette diamonds cover the bracelet, case and bezel:
The rose gold version (15417OR) sells for about a million dollars pre-owned, and the even rarer white gold version (15417BC) sells for a touch more.
Grande Complications
Fair market value: $450,000 – $1.5 million
You can see our guide to the hierarchy of AP Royal Oak complications to get the full picture of where the many ultra-high-end Royal Oak variants stack up. At the very top are Grande Complication models, which must have a minute repeater, perpetual calendar and split-seconds chronograph.
Some are even openworked. Expect to pay at least $600,000 for any Royal Oak or Royal Oak Offshore Grande Complication (which are both 44mm wide).
White ceramic Royal Oak Grande Complications (ref. 26605CB) are worth about $1.1 million and black ceramic versions (ref. 26605CE) are worth even more.
The original AP Grande Complication debuted in 1996 and it was actually one of the first Jules Audemars models. Although they aren’t as popular as Royal Oaks, I would expect to pay at least $450,000 for one of those–or even more for an openworked one.
Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar Openworked in White Ceramic
Fair market value: $1.1 million
The Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar Openworked in black ceramic is worth about $400,000. But the white ceramic version (ref. 26585CB), only released in China, is one of the most expensive modern non-gem-set Audemars Piguet watches there is. It can sell for over a million dollars because it was limited to only 30 pieces.
Code 11.59 Carillon Supersonnerie “Samurai”
Last auction price: ~$1 million (Sotheby’s, 2026)
Any Audemars Piguet Carillon Supersonnerie chiming watch will sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars. The “carillon” part means there are three hammers and gongs, instead of the two found in most minute repeaters. The “Supersonnerie” part means it has a dedicated soundboard. Instead of attaching the gongs to the movement’s mainplate, AP attaches them to a thin resonating membrane beneath the movement. This concept, introduced in 2015, makes it significantly louder.
Some one-of-one versions with enamel guilloche dials, or opal dials, can sell for well over $500,000. But the most expensive Audemars Piguet Code 11.59 other than the Universelle version is a unique Carillon Supersonnerie with a cloisonné enamel depiction of a samurai on its dial. It sold for about $1 million at auction in 2026.
Asymmetrical 5182
Fair market value: $250,000 – $1.2 million
Ref. 5182 hasn’t come up for sale since 2007, when one sold for $23,750. It’s so rare and the market has changed so much that it’s difficult to estimate what it would sell for today, but I can’t imagine it selling for less than a quarter-million dollars today. The distinctive 33mm asymmetrical case was “probably” designed by Gerald Genta according to AP’s records.
Unique Ladies’ Royal Oak Haute Joaillerie Models
Fair market value: ~$250,000 – 1.2 million
AP made a handful of one-of-one gem-slathered ladies’ Royal Oaks over the years, like the 30mm ref. 14922 circa 1997:
Ref. 14926 features emeralds on its bracelet and bezel:
There’s also the 33mm Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar ref. 25932:
The Rest of the Most Expensive Audemars Piguet Haute Joaillerie Watches
Fair market value: $250,000 – $1.2 million
AP’s high-jewelry Diamond series of bracelet watches, made from 2015-2017, comprises six configurations: Diamond Punk in full diamond or with black onyx, Diamond Fury in full diamond or with black onyx, and Diamond Outrage in full diamond or blue sapphire.
The outrageous Sapphire Orbe, ref. 67705BC.ZS.9192BC.01, debuted in 2019:
Like the Diamond Fury/Punk, its dial can be concealed:
Audemars Piguet’s Atelier des Établisseurs, focused on ultra-upscale low-volume unusual watches, publicly debuted at Watches and Wonders 2026.
The Établisseurs Peacock, limited to three pieces, is their most exotic release so far.
And although it’s not for sale, this ruby-covered AP museum piece is certainly worth a huge sum:
Karl Lagerfeld’s Black PVD Royal Oak
Most recent auction price: $951,000 (Phillips, 2022)
Fashion icon Karl Lagerfeld, known for decades-long creative leadership stints at Chanel and Fendi, was frequently seen wearing an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak 5402ST with a custom black PVD coating. He was way ahead of the game in terms of the blackened watch trend. At a 2022 auction, a black PVD-coated 5402ST (presumed to be Lagerfeld’s) sold for just under a million dollars.
That just about covers all the most expensive Audemars Piguet watches in the world, although there are almost certainly numerous as-yet-undiscovered historically significant rare pieces that will continue to be unearthed over the years. We’ll keep you updated!
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