Weekly market brief · 2026-08-17
The ultra-luxury watch market this week
One dated, citable read on the top of the market — compiled from the Price Index, the Grail Index, the auction desk's verified results and the Watch of the Day record. Every figure is first-party and documented.
Price Index
100.0
12,785 matched listings · as of 2026-08-17
Grail Index ($1M+)
182
$616,198,133 documented · 2002–2026
Verified sales tracked
6
latest auction-desk recaps
As of 2026-08-17, the Price Index sits at 100.004 (+0.004% since baseline) across 12,785 matched listings tracked over 75 days. Gainers include A. Lange & Söhne (+0.15%), Patek Philippe (+0.03%), and Tudor (+0.01%), while Audemars Piguet (-0.08%), Vacheron Constantin (-0.07%), and Cartier (-0.06%) declined. The Grail Index tracks 182 documented $1M+ results totaling $616,198,133 between 2002 and 2026, led by a Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime at $31,000,000 in 2019.
Recent verified results include Phillips' The New York Watch Auction: XIV (concluded 2026-06-14), which recorded 11 verified lots with a top result of $13,922,000. Christie's Watches Online: The New York Edit (concluded 2026-06-17) achieved 5 verified lots, topping at $762,000. Antiquorum's Important Modern & Vintage Timepieces (concluded 2026-06-28) closed 4 verified lots, led by a $463,904 sale.
Looking ahead, Christie's will host the Watches Online: Hong Kong Edit in Hong Kong on 2026-09-24 and the Watches Online: The Dubai Edit in Dubai on 2026-10-05. Sotheby's Fine Watches sale is scheduled in Paris for 2026-10-07.
The week's verified results
| Sale | Concluded | Verified lots | Top result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Important Modern & Vintage Timepieces · Antiquorum, Monaco | 2026-06-28 | 4 | $463,904 |
| Watches Online: The New York Edit · Christie's, New York | 2026-06-17 | 5 | $762,000 |
| The New York Watch Auction: XIV · Phillips, New York | 2026-06-14 | 11 | $13,922,000 |
| Important Watches · Christie's, New York | 2026-06-12 | 4 | $2,759,000 |
| The Heat Wave · Marteau & Co, Online/Geneva | 2026-06-17 | 1 | $1,750,000 |
| London Fine Watches · Bonhams, London | 2026-06-11 | 1 | $352,000 |
Index movers
Gainers
A. Lange & Söhne +0.15%
Patek Philippe +0.03%
Tudor +0.01%
Decliners
Audemars Piguet -0.08%
Vacheron Constantin -0.07%
Cartier -0.06%
The week in Watch of the Day
| 2026-08-17 | Rolex Daytona 'The Legend' | $3,726,000 · Phillips Geneva · 2017 |
| 2026-08-16 | Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar | $398,000 · Sotheby's Geneva · 2022 |
| 2026-08-15 | Greubel Forsey GMT Balancier Convexe (1 of 1) | $302,400 · Christie's Dubai · 2025 |
| 2026-08-14 | Rolex GMT-Master "Marlon Brando" | $1,952,000 · Phillips New York · 2019 |
| 2026-08-13 | George Daniels Anniversary | $1,260,614 · Phillips Geneva · 2023 |
| 2026-08-12 | Greubel Forsey Invention Piece 2 | $423,395 · Christie's Hong Kong · 2024 |
| 2026-08-11 | Cartier Tank Louis Cartier | $379,500 · Christie's New York · 2017 |
What's ahead
| 2026-09-24 | Christie's — Watches Online: Hong Kong Edit | Hong Kong |
| 2026-10-05 | Christie's — Watches Online: The Dubai Edit | Dubai |
| 2026-10-07 | Sotheby's — Fine Watches | Paris |
| 2026-10-22 | Phillips — The New York Watch Auction (Autumn) | New York |
| 2026-11-07 | Antiquorum — Important Modern & Vintage Timepieces | Geneva |
Previous briefs
2026-08-102026-08-032026-07-272026-07-202026-07-132026-07-062026-07-05
About this brief
Compiled weekly from MostExpensiveWatches' first-party data: the Price Index, the Grail Index, auction-desk recaps and the daily record. Machine-readable: /data/market-brief.json. Cite as “MostExpensiveWatches Weekly Market Brief”.
Compiled: 2026-08-17T08:15:26.922486+00:00