Mark Zuckerberg's $1.2m watch in video catches attention, here's what we know about the rare timepiece

In a video posted to Facebook on Tuesday (Jan 7), Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg explained the company's decision to do away with third-party fact-checking on its social media platforms in the US.

However, what seemed to have caught the attention of many was not exactly the content of the video, but the luxury timepiece wrapped around his left wrist.

The Facebook co-founder was spotted wearing a Greubel Forsey Hand Made 1.

This Swiss watch is worth about US$900,000 (S$1.2 million).

In fact, this piece is so rare that only two or three models are produced each year, according to Greubel Forsey. 

To highlight its rarity, international pre-owned luxury-watch dealer Luxury Bazaar notes that Greubel Forsey has made roughly the same number of watches in its first 20 years of operation (at around 3,000) as fellow luxury-watch brand Patek Philippe makes every 20 days.

According to Greubel Forsey, 95 per cent of the watch is crafted by hand-operated tools and assembling a single timepiece takes 6,000 hours.

For comparison, Patek Philippe's initial assembling of its watches typically requires between 200 and 300 hours.

And if any reassembly is involved, the entire watchmaking process can reach about 500 hours.

Popular among collectors and enthusiasts for its tourbillon watches, Greubel Forsey was co-founded by Robert Greubel and Stephen Forsey in 2004.

According to retailer of luxury Swiss watches SwissWatchExpo, a tourbillon watch refers to a feature found in luxury timepieces that increases accuracy by counteracting the effects of gravity.

Luxury Bazaar also notes that Greubel Forsey is "one of the most expensive" watch brands in the world, with most secondhand models selling for somewhere between $150,000 and $500,000.

Falling in love with watches

What may come as a surprise to some is that, despite his immense wealth, Mark was hardly seen wearing a fancy watch until recently.

His attendance at Indian businessman Anant Ambani's wedding seemed to have piqued the tech billionaire's interest in expensive timepieces. 

In a viral clip posted on X last July, Mark and his wife, Priscilla Chan, could be seen admiring Anant's Richard Mille timepiece.

"You know, I never really wanted to get a watch, but after seeing that, I was like, 'watches are cool'," Mark said.

According to British publication Daily Mail, the watch in the video is believed to be a Richard Mille RMS-10 Tourbillon Koi Fish, which is worth an estimated $1 million.

Since then, Mark has been seen rocking a number of expensive watches.

As a guest on comedy podcast Huge Conversations, the billionaire was seen wearing an F.P. Journe Chronometre Souverain Havana.

A quick check on luxury-watch online market Chrono24 shows eight listings for this watch with prices well over S$100,000.

At the Meta Connect developer conference last September, eagle-eyed watch enthusiasts noticed Mark added to his F.P Journe collection, as he donned a Centigraphe Sport Aluminium. 

A quick check on Christie's, well known for its online-only auctions, showed a listing for this timepiece with the price realised at $81,250.

amierul@asiaone.com

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