Patek Philippe's fabled Henry Graves Supercomplication, the most valuable watch in history, is to auction at Sotheby's New York on November 14.
It's expected to auction for a figure in excess of $16.8m.
 Henry Graves commissioned the Supercomplication in 1925 |
US banker Graves commissioned the company to make him the most complicated watch in history in 1925. It would take eight solid years of research and development to create and contains a wealth of features, including a perpetual calendar and a star chart of the skies over New York.
The watch last auctioned in 1999 for $11m, which remains a watch world record.
It was recently revealed that the buyer of the watch was Sheik Saud Bin Mohammed Bin Ali Al-Thani, a member of the Qatari royal family.
The sheik is thought to be heavily in debt to Sotheby's and is consigning the lot to clear the slate.
Tim Bourne, Sotheby's worldwide head of watches, and Daryn Schnipper, chairman of Sotheby's watch division, commented: "The list of superlatives which can be attached to this icon of the 20th century is truly extraordinary.
"Indisputably the 'Holy Grail' of watches, The Henry Graves Supercomplication combines the Renaissance ideal of the unity of beauty and craftsmanship with the apogee of science.
"Our offering of this horological work of art in 1999 was unquestionably the highlight of our professional careers".
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