Patek Philippe watch sells for $31M in charity auction for muscular dystrophy

Nov. 11 (UPI) -- A Patek Philippe watch has sold for $31 million, the highest price ever paid for a wristwatch, at a biennial charity auction hosted by Christie's in Switzerland to benefit research into a form of muscular dystrophy.

The stainless steel Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime 6300A-010 has a reversible case with dials in rose gold and black ebony and 20 special functions. Among those functions are five chiming modes, and an acoustic alarm.

It was created specially for the 2019 Only Watch auction. A private telephone bidder bought it for $31 million Saturday after a five-minute bidding war with 300 people packed in a room in the Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues in Geneva.

The record price beat a previous record of $17.8 million that Daytona Rolex set in 2017 for a watch that once belonged to Paul Newman.

Luc Pettavino, former chief executive officer of the Monaco Yacht Show, founded the Only Watch charity auction in 2005, after his son, Paul, was diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a progressive muscle weakness disease that affects one in 3,000 male births. His son died at age 21 in 2016.

"Breaking records is obviously a source of pride and happiness," Pettavino said. "What a beautiful moment and emotion shared together. And what matters most today is the difference we are going to be able to make in research against muscular dystrophies and for hundreds of thousands of patients and families around the world for their lives to get better."