Over the weekend, a galaxy of stars from all over the world flocked to Mumbai to celebrate the grand opening of the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC) – a first-of-its-kind, state-of-the-art venue created to celebrate the rich cultural history of India. The world-class establishment is the brainchild of Nita Ambani, wife of billionaire Indian business mogul Mukesh Ambani. A-listers including Gigi Hadid, Zendaya, Tom Holland, Priyanka Chopra, and Nick Jonas, all turned out for the red-carpet launch wearing beautifully embroidered dresses. The internet has been flooded with pictures and videos from the two-day-long event; however, there was one particular video that caught our eye as we managed to spot a very, very special Patek Philippe.
If you’re a watch enthusiast, I’m sure you would be aware of the Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime Reference 6300G – it’s the most complicated Patek ever made. And with just a handful of them ever made, it’s almost impossible to spot one. However, a grand occasion calls for a special watch, and the person rocking the horological unicorn was none other than Anant Ambani, the youngest son of Mukesh Ambani – Asia’s richest man – and Nita Ambani.
What makes the Grandmaster Chime Reference 6300G a truly special horological creation?
It was in 2014 when Patek Philippe released the Grandmaster Chime Ref. 5175 as part of its 175th-anniversary celebrations. Priced at $2.5 million, the incredible timepiece was touted as the most complicated watch ever made by Patek. The iconic watch brand made only six examples of the timepiece, all in ornately engraved yellow-gold cases. However, two years later Patek Philippe released the second iteration of the Grandmaster Chime, ref. 6300G, which replaced the engraved yellow-gold case with a white-gold version and sported some more changes. But, more importantly, it was mechanically identical, making it just as special as the original. Patek made no more than a dozen of the ref. 6300G with black and white dials before replacing it with a version that features a pair of blue dials along with a matching blue strap. Anant Ambani was spotted wearing the blue version of the Grandmaster Chime 6300G.
The Grandmaster Chime Reference 6300G was originally launched with a price tag of $2.2 million. However, the prices of these watches have sky-rocketed in the secondary market, with some examples available for close to $9 million. But it’s completely justifiable considering the fact that another iteration of the same timepiece (ref. 6300A) currently holds the record for the most expensive watch ever sold. The one-of-a-kind watch created a world record in 2019 by selling for $31 million. The Grandmaster Chime reference 6300 has two dials, a reversible case, and 20 complications. Patek Phillipe spent 8 years developing the original watch that came out in 2014.
The timepiece has four spring barrels driving 20 complications, including a grande and petite sonnerie, a minute repeater, an instantaneous perpetual calendar with a four-digit year display, second-time zone, day/night indicator, day/date (on both dials), month, leap-year cycle, four-digit year display, and 24-hour and minute subdial.
Two of the complications were actually the first of their kind. The Grandmaster Chime holds six patents, including one for the mechanism that allows you to easily swivel and lock the double-faced case. Calling it a horological masterpiece would be an understatement.
