To commemorate its 175th anniversary, Swiss luxury watchmaker Patek Philippe on Tuesday unveiled a new $2.6 million wristwatch, which president Thierry Stern showed from the company's Geneva headquarters.
Featuring 18-karat gold and sapphire crystals, the Grandmaster Chime timepiece is the most expensive and complicated wristwatch Patek has ever built. It has two faces—one that shows the time and the other, the calendar. The case turns on a vertical axis to alternate between the two.
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It features six new patents in watchmaking as well as 20 complications, or functions. Generally speaking, the more complications that are packed into a watch, the bigger its price tag.
Only seven of the timepieces will be produced, and Patek will hold onto one that will be kept in the company's private collection in Geneva.
But not just anyone with $2.6 million burning a hole in their pocket can take one home. Buyers must apply to purchase one of the watches, and they'll have to prove their passion for Patek to the company's president.
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"I would like to chat with the client and make sure he's a watch lover and make sure he's going to enjoy the watch for many years," Stern said.