Billionaire heir Anant Ambani is all set to marry his longtime girlfriend Radhika Merchant on July 12 in an extravagant ceremony in Mumbai, India, which is expected to be attended by notable celebrities and VIPs from all across the world. Pop sensation Justin Bieber performed in one of the grand ceremonies this week. Throughout the year-long pre-wedding festivities, the 29-year-old has rocked some of the rarest and most expensive wristwatches, always color-matched with his attire. Be it the stunning $1.4 million Richard Mille 12-01 Tourbillon Carbon and red Quartz TPT or the $9 million Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime Reference 6300G, Anant Ambani never ceases to impress with his incredible watch collection.
But just when we thought that it couldn’t get any better, the youngest son of the richest person in Asia pulled off one of the biggest surprises. At one of the pre-wedding ceremonies, Anant Ambani wore a Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime Ref. 5175R ‘175th Anniversary,’ which is believed to be one of the most expensive watches in the world.
It was in 2014 when Patek Philippe released the Grandmaster Chime Ref. 5175R to celebrate its 175th anniversary. Only 7 examples were made of the watch, each with an estimated price of 2,500,000 CHF (~$2.8 million). While six were reserved by long-serving Patek collectors well before its debut, one example is on display at the Patek Philippe Museum. Featuring a mega list of 20 complications, the timepiece was introduced as the most complicated wristwatch ever to be made by the Swiss watchmaker.
In fact, it’s the precursor to the 6300G, which shares the same movement along with the 20 complications. However, the successor is available in different colorways and multiple case material options. Furthermore, the 6300G is not a limited edition model, although Patek produces very few examples of the timepiece yearly. The complexity and the exclusivity of the Ref. 5175R is what makes it the most valuable Patek wristwatch. According to some watch experts we spoke to, the stunning piece of horological artwork is currently valued at $40 million — if you can find one.
Patek Philippe spent 8 years to develop the Grandmaster Chime Ref. 5175. The 47mm case crafted out of 18k rose gold alone took 4 years to develop. It comprises 214 components, which is more than what most movements have. The ornate laurel motif relief is hand-chiseled under a microscope; the attention to detail is unprecedented. Housed inside the beautiful case is the manufacture Caliber 300 GS AL 36-750 QIS FUS IRM.
The incredibly complicated movement is comprised of 1,366 parts and offers 72 hours of power reserve for the timekeeping functions. To offer some context, the ever-popular Rolex Daytona, powered by the Cal. 4130, has a mere 201 components. A separate double barrel mechanism drives the sonnerie functions, offering a power reserve of 30 hours.
As mentioned before, Ref. 5175 features 20 complications; two of them are actually the first of their kind – a date repeater that chimes the date on demand and an alarm that strikes the alarm time. In addition to those, the timepiece gets several more chiming functions, including a grande and petite sonnerie, along with a minute repeater. The grande sonnerie chimes the hour and the hour and quarter hours every quarter, while the petite sonnerie chimes the hour and only the quarter hours every quarter.
On the other hand, a minute repeater is a type of complication that chimes the time on demand. Other complications include an instantaneous perpetual calendar with leap and four-digit year indicators, a second time zone, and various power reserve and mode indicator displays. To accommodate the long list of complications, Patek gave the watch a reversible case with two dials. It truly doesn’t get any better.
