Unless in a coma for the past several months, one would have come across the news of Anant Ambani, youngest son of Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani, getting married to <keyword id="20178843" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Radhika-Merchant" source="keywords">Radhika Merchant</keyword>, daughter of Viren A. Merchant, on July 12 at Mumbai's Jio World Convention Center. The lavish wedding and pre-wedding events, following their engagement last year, drew nationwide attention for its grandeur and the presence of hundreds of celebrities and prominent personalities. Now, reports of the <keyword id="22409157" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="luxurious-gifts" source="keywords">luxurious gifts</keyword> given to Anant's close friends are also making waves. As per media reports, Anant Ambani surprised his groomsmen by giving each of them a watch worth ₹2 crore. These expensive <keyword id="22409155" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Audemars-Piguet-watches" source="keywords">Audemars Piguet watches</keyword> are creating a buzz online. Guests are posting videos of the lavish gift hampers that include these elegant watches, showing how grand Anant's gesture was. <div type="image" title="Watches" msid="111733513" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Screengrab from a video floating on the internet&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div>A Reddit post revealed that Anant had ordered a custom set of 25 limited edition Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar Luminary Edition watches. Famous recipients included Shah Rukh Khan, Ranveer Singh, Shikhar Pahariya, Veer Pahariya, and Meezaan Jafri, as deduced from social media updates and celebrity interactions. The watch Anant Ambani gifted has a 41 mm pink gold case and is 9.5 mm thick, with a see-through back and a secure crown. It has a pink gold dial with a special pattern, blue counters, pink gold hour markers, and glowing hands. The watch also features a pink gold inner bezel and a self-winding movement that shows the week, day, date, moon phase, month, leap year, and time. While Anant Ambani gifted Audemars Piguet watches to his groomsmen, Reliance employees also received Haldiram Bhujia as a wedding gift. <div type="twitter" handle="the_codewala" handlename="the_codewala" favoritecount="0" retweetcount="0" id="1810972241594863814"></div>Several Reliance employees shared photos and videos on social media of the gift box they received before Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant's wedding on July 12. The red gift box has gold lettering that says: “With the divine grace of our gods and goddesses, we celebrate the wedding of Anant and Radhika. Best wishes, Nita and Mukesh Ambani.” (With inputs from TOI and Hindustan Times) SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/pm-narendra-modi-attends-anant-ambani-and-radhika-merchants-star-studded-wedding-event/articleshow/111719695.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">PM Narendra Modi attends Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant's star-studded wedding event</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/politics/india/article/rahul-gandhi-takes-dig-at-politicians-attending-ambani-wedding-bash-while-commoners-are-dying-of-hunger/articleshow/111727513.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Rahul Gandhi takes dig at politicians attending Ambani wedding bash while commoners are “dying of hunger”</a>

Ambani wedding giveaways: ₹2 Crore Watches for SRK, Ranveer and Groomsmen, Bhujia for Reliance employees

Entry based on a QR code messaged on personal mobile phones, colour-coded paper wristbands for access to different zones, and a medical response preparedness reserved for heads of state helped Asia's richest man Mukesh <keyword id="19898589" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ambani" source="keywords">Ambani</keyword> wed his youngest son <keyword id="20472163" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="anant" source="keywords">Anant</keyword> to <keyword id="22391270" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="pharmaceutical-heiress" source="keywords">pharmaceutical heiress</keyword> <keyword id="20178843" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Radhika-Merchant" source="keywords">Radhika Merchant</keyword> in the year's most extravagant wedding. Global <keyword id="19903563" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="celebrities" source="keywords">celebrities</keyword>, business tycoons, cricketers, filmstars and politicians of all hues attended the wedding at Ambani-family-owned Jio World Centre at Mumbai's BKC on Friday and a 'blessing ceremony' for friends and family members titled 'Shubh Ashirwad' on the following day. A wide range of guests - from employees to business associates - were invited for another reception, titled 'Mangal Utsav', on Sunday at the same venue. Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the venue on Saturday to bless the couple. Three different invitations were sent out for the wedding and the receptions with top-run guests being sent a large red box that contained an intricate chest incorporating a mini silver temple featuring gold idols of various Hindu deities, including Lord Ganesh, Radha-Krishna, and Goddess Durga. The invitation revealed different cards for each wedding function with one crafted from silver and resembling the main gate of an ancient temple. It included several keepsakes, such as an embroidered cloth with the initials 'AR' for Anant and Radhika, a blue shawl and a silver box filled with more gifts. The simplest invitation was in a laptop-sized box with silver statues of three Gods and invitation cards. The guests were asked to confirm their presence through an email or Google Form. Those confirming their presence received a message that read: "We have received your RSVP and we look forward to welcoming you... the QR codes will be shared 6 hours prior to the event." The QR codes messaged to the mobile phones and emailed were scanned to allow entry into the venue where different coloured paper wristbands were tied on the wrist of all the guests that gave them access to different zones depending on the colour. Several film stars and cricketers as well as business tycoons like Korean electronic giant Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong and his wife sported a pink wristband on their wedding day and a red one on Saturday. Employees, security and service staff wore different coloured wristbands. Ushers and a multi-layer security cover secured the sprawling venue, two sources aware of the matter said. Detailed fire and other emergency plans were worked out while an elaborate medical response preparedness resembled one reserved for heads of state. The medical response preparedness included doctors and paramedical staff with all emergency equipment at the venue. Ambulances had clearly demarcated routes to the nearest hospitals which had been primed in advance for dealing with any sort of medical emergency. "The Ambanis did not want to leave anything to chance," a source revealed. Another source said the time between the QR Code being sent and the actual event was cut this time as in the previous <keyword id="20727512" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Ambani-wedding" source="keywords">Ambani wedding</keyword> some had "sold" the access to non-invited people. The dress code for all the events was Indian and international guests too wore designer traditional clothes such as embroidered sherwanis and bandhgalas. John Cena paired a powder-blue sherwani with white pants while Nick Jonas wore a pink sherwani and white pants. Samsung head too came dressed in a sherwani for the event. Most guests wore different clothes for the 'baraat' or wedding procession and the actual wedding on Friday. The Saturday event featured all the guests invited for the wedding as well as some additional important people. The guest list includes former British Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Boris Johnson, Saudi Aramco CEO Amin H. Nasser, reality TV star Kim Kardashian and her sister Khloe, Nigerian rapper Rema, and footballer David Beckham. Business tycoon Gautam Adani came to the wedding holding hands of his little granddaughter with his son Karan and wife Preeti in tow. Kumar Mangalam Birla too came with his family. Almost the entire top rung Bollywood actors -- from Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan to Ajay Devgn, Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Tiger Shroff and Varun Dhawan -- were present, most with their families, while superstars Rajinikanth, Ram Charan and Mahesh Babu led the entourage from down south. <keyword id="20590484" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-cricketers" source="keywords">Indian cricketers</keyword>, including icons Sachin Tendulkar, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav, too were present. The notable persons missing were T20 World Cup winning captain Rohit Sharma who was watching the Wimbledon semi-final in London and Virat Kohli. Politicians who attended the wedding included Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, his deputies Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav, his wife Dimple and Shiv Sena (UBT) head Uddhav Thackeray. NCP (SP) supremo Sharad Pawar, Congress leaders Kamal Nath and Sachin Pilot and Karnataka deputy chief minister D K Shivakumar were also among the attendees at the event. Shankaracharya of Dwarka Peeth Swami Sadananda Saraswati and Shankaracharya of Jyotirmath Swami Avimukteshwaranand as well as yoga guru Ramdev too attended the event. FIFA President Gianni Infantino, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and his deputy Pawan Kalyan, too, were in attendance. The groom, Anant, 29, oversees the oil-to-telecom conglomerate <keyword id="19896380" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Reliance-Industries" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Reliance Industries" meta.hostid="153" meta.entityid="Reliance Industries">Reliance Industries</keyword> Ltd's renewable and green energy expansion while the bride, Radhika Merchant, also 29, is the daughter of pharmaceutical tycoon Viren and Shaila Merchant and is the marketing director for his company, Encore Healthcare. The three-day wedding extravaganza is the final stop in a string of lavish parties the family has hosted since March. The couple got engaged in January 2023 and the Ambanis have hosted three lavish pre-wedding parties. First a three-day pre-wedding celebration was held in March in the group's refinery township of Jamnagar in Gujarat that hosted tech billionaires Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner in the 1,200-strong guest list, and had an exclusive performance by Rihanna. David Blaine did magic tricks and the festivities also involved a trip to Ambani's 'animal rescue centre' housing exotic animals. In May, the Ambanis set off on a four-day Mediterranean cruise starting in the Italian city of Palermo, featuring on-deck concerts from the Backstreet Boys, Pitbull, and David Guetta, and a performance by Katy Perry at a masquerade ball at the Chateau de la Croix des Gardes in France. DJ David Guetta played at a toga party at sea. The cruise ended in Italy's Portofino, where tenor Andrea Bocelli serenaded the party in the town square. Last week, Justin Bieber performed at the 'Sangeet' or musical night. The Ambanis have not revealed how much Anant's wedding is costing. But the gala scale of the celebration included a Rs 5-6 lakh per piece select invitation box and three Falcon-2000 jets being rented to ferry wedding guests to the event. Anant Ambani gifted friends Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar limited edition watch. It was rumoured Rihanna had been paid USD 7 million for her performance and Bieber USD 10 million (close to Rs 84 crore). An email sent to <keyword id="19936674" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="reliance" source="keywords">Reliance</keyword> remained unanswered. Mukesh and Nita in the past had lavish weddings for their other children too -- Beyonce performed at daughter Isha Ambani's 2018 nuptials that boasted guests like Hillary Clinton and John Kerry, and a year later Coldplay's Chris Martin performed at Aaksh's pre-wedding bash in St Moritz, Switzerland, and Maroon 5 at his wedding in Mumbai. The 2018 wedding of Isha was billed as the most expensive wedding in India to date with some estimates putting the cost up to USD 100 million. Mukesh Ambani, 67, is at present the world's 11th richest man with a net worth of USD 119 billion, according to Bloomberg Billionaire Index. He spent the last two decades in transforming Reliance Industries, founded by his father in 1966 as a stodgy oil and petrochemicals giant, into a global empire spanning telecoms, retail, financial services, cricket and luxury fashion. Anant Ambani is the youngest of his three children, all of whom are on the board of Reliance Industries.

QR Code, colour-coded wristbands, standby medical teams secured the Ambani-Merchant wedding

Jay Z's luxury watch collection is worth millions and includes one of the most complicated timepieces ever made

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Arnold Schwarzenegger was detained at Munich's airport after bringing a watch he planned to gift.</li><li>Schwarzenegger had not declared the item, which is required by Germany's customs authority.</li></ul>Arnold Schwarzenegger was detained for more than two hours at Germany's Munich International Airport after failing to declare a luxury watch, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/17/europe/arnold-schwarzenegger-munich-airport-watch-intl/index.html">CNN</a> reported.As a result, the celebrity and former California governor will face criminal tax proceedings, Thomas Meister, a Munich customs press officer, told <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/17/europe/arnold-schwarzenegger-munich-airport-watch-intl/index.html">CNN</a>."He did not declare a product," Meister told CNN. "And this process applies to everyone." Meister did not immediately respond to BI's request for comment, which was sent outside regular business hours.According to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.zoll.de/EN/Private-individuals/Travel/Entering-Germany/Duties-and-taxes/Exceeding-travellers-allowances/exceeding-travellers-allowances_node.html">Germany's Central Customs Authority</a>, non-EU travelers are required to declare any goods that will remain within the country if they exceed €430, or $467 USD — in Schwarzenegger's case, a luxury watch. The traveler must also pay import duties."He was never asked to fill out a declaration form and he answered every question from customs officers honestly," a source close to Schwarzenegger, whose identity Business Insider confirmed, said.While detained, Schwarzenegger agreed to pay the watch's potential taxes. This involved Schwarzenegger attempting to use a broken credit-card machine, then a failed trip to a bank, and finally, a working credit-card machine, the source told BI.Schwarzenegger was later released from the airport and continued traveling, CNN reported.According to the German newspaper <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bild.de/unterhaltung/leute/leute/arnold-schwarzenegger-am-flughafen-muenchen-festgehalten-aerger-mit-dem-zoll-86800126.bild.html">Bild</a>, Schwarzenegger was traveling with a unique Audemars Piguet watch. Timepieces from the brand can run up to hundreds of thousands of dollars. The same source states that the watch was planned to be auctioned off at the Austrian World Summit on Thursday in Kitzbuhel, Austria, to benefit the Schwarzenegger Climate Initiative."The watch will likely still be auctioned tomorrow, and the Schwarzenegger Climate Initiative will properly report it, as all of Arnold's non-profits do," the source told BI.<div type="image" title="Woman pulling luggage through airport." height="5504" width="8256" msid="106969319" hostid="261" sizebytes="1883062"></div><h2>A luxury travel agent tells travelers to keep this in mind if you're flying with high-end gifts</h2>Travelers arriving with items they plan to wear and keep when visiting the EU do not require declaration, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.zoll.de/EN/Private-individuals/Travel/Entering-Germany/entering_germany_node.html">Germany's Central Customs Authority's website states</a>.However, imported items that are intended as gifts that exceed $467 USD need to be declared, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.zoll.de/EN/Private-individuals/Travel/Entering-Germany/Duties-and-taxes/Travellers-allowances/travellers-allowances_node.html">Germany's Central Customs Authority states</a>, and travelers will need to pay an import duty fee on the item's total value.For example, if you travel to Germany with your designer purse and bring home that same bag, you don't need to declare it. But if you pack a designer purse you plan to gift to your German friend that costs $1,500, that needs to be declared and duty fees paid.Michael Trager, the director of the luxury travel agency <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="c-link c-link--focus-visible" href="https://travelzork.com/">TravelZork</a> and a travel adviser at <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="c-link c-link--focus-visible" href="https://www.traveledge.com/?c3api=6929&amp;iv_=__iv_p_1_a_15041536047_w_kwd-458858887647_d_c_n_g_c_558520427441_k_travel%20edge_m_e_l__t__vi__&amp;utm_source=google&amp;utm_medium=cpc&amp;utm_campaign=TE-Brand-November%202021&amp;gad_source=1&amp;gclid=Cj0KCQiAo7KqBhDhARIsAKhZ4ugwaxuGaroGMuUCKER3gj8nL8rcmoE9zy6JdZ6vYPuluzBqZU1t3ZkaAqNGEALw_wcB">Travel Edge</a>, told BI to keep this rule in mind when traveling with pricey gifts."My tip is that if you are bringing expensive gifts, you better be prepared to declare and pay taxes on these gifts," he said in an email to BI. "Personal possessions are not an issue, as long as it is obvious that they are items you are using/wearing on your journey and bringing back home."

Are you sure you have nothing to declare? Let Arnold Schwarzenegger and his pricey watch be a lesson to us all.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Avi Hiaeve, a millennial who owns the high-end watch retailer <a href="https://www.aviandco.com/">Avi &amp; Co.</a>, spoke with Insider about the value of investing in <keyword id="602509" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="luxury-watches">luxury watches</keyword>.</li><li>Hiaeve said those looking to enter the watch investing game should look out for four names: <keyword id="6399172" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="rolex">Rolex</keyword>, Audemars Piguet, Patek Philippe, and Richard Mille.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/here-are-the-11-best-watch-investments-for-aspiring-collectors-2020-6">As previously reported by Inside</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/here-are-the-11-best-watch-investments-for-aspiring-collectors-2020-6">r</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/here-are-the-11-best-watch-investments-for-aspiring-collectors-2020-6"></a>, most people look to the secondhand market to buy their timepieces, and vintage <keyword id="22670" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="watches">watches</keyword> pretty much dominate the sector. </li><li>Hiaeve said it's impossible to be priced out of the watch game because there's a watch at every price point for everyone. To sum it up: The people who want a Rolex will always buy one. </li><li>That statement was proven true amid the pandemic, where high-net-worth-individuals have continued to splurge on luxury watches and items. </li><li><a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/19/business/fine-jewelry-pandemic/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener"></a>For example, the Sotheby's Important Watches live auction concluded on December 15 and <a href="https://usa.watchpro.com/sothebys-important-watches-live-auction-concludes-on-10-4m-up-27-year-on-year/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">brought in $10.4 million</a> — up 27% from last year — with a Patek Philippe Ref 2499 retailed by Tiffany &amp; Co. selling for $818,600.</li></ul>It was a Wednesday night in February when Insider first met Avi Hiaeve at his luxury watch party in New York City's Midtown Manhattan. Jamie Foxx was the host, while Moët &amp; Chandon was passed around; appetizers that included both caviar and chicken wings were served on small dishes. A rare Tiffany blue Rolex was situated not far from a Patek Philippe, and diamonds - lots of diamonds - lined the back walls of the room.The shindig's environment (and the young crowd it drew) was proof positive that people still love luxury watches - and love splashing out major cash on them. Amid the uncertainty of the pandemic, high-net-worth-individuals have continued to buy pricey watches. Signs of this trend were seen as early as April when GQ's Cam Wolf noted that <a href="https://www.gq.com/story/vintage-watch-market-coronavirus">Sotheby's had been selling more classic watches</a>, even as major brands called off their plans to release new models. In fact, Sotheby's held an Important Watches live auction last Tuesday that <a href="https://usa.watchpro.com/sothebys-important-watches-live-auction-concludes-on-10-4m-up-27-year-on-year/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">brought in $10.4 million</a> - up 27% from last year - with a Patek Philippe Ref 2499 retailed by Tiffany &amp; Co. selling for $818,600. Other standouts from the auction: A Cartier Ecran Mystery Clock that went for $564,500, and a Rare Salmon Dial Audemars Piguet Royal Oak selling for $441,000. "In the market, there are watches for everybody. If you want to spend $5,000, you're going to find yourself a $5,000 watch," Hiaeve told Insider. "The celebrities and the artists and all of them, they're not wearing watches under $100,000 anymore, everything they want is over $100,000. It's really gone through the roof."<h2>Birkin bags, Basquiat paintings, and Richard Mille watches</h2>Born in Israel, Hiaeve, 35, grew up in Queens, New York. At 16 years old, he opened Avi &amp; Co., an exclusive high-end retailer that now caters to some of the notable names in the world - Foxx, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nicki-minaj-husband-spent-over-1-million-on-wedding-ring-2019-10">Nicki Minaj</a>, and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/justin-bieber-seasons-youtube-originals-documentary-series-premiere-breaks-record-2020-2">Justin Bieber</a>, to name only a few. His family has always been in the jewelry business, he said, but the watch industry is where he truly found his calling."Jewelry was something my family was doing, so it was easier to learn it. But watches, this is something that came from a hobby," Hiaeve said. "I used to love watches and play around with them. And you know what? I just felt like they were good investments. After a while, it became my main business."<div type="image" title="Avi &amp; Co." height="4680" width="3120" msid="76185477" hostid="261"></div>Most of Hiaeve's clients come from word of mouth - basketball players, rappers, and football players flock to him because they're referred by existing customers.In addition to the hype around owning a Rolex or Richard Mille, he said, most understand that many luxury watches hold good investment value, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wealthy-people-consider-liquidating-art-assets-as-recession-looms-2020-4">like a Birkin or a Basquiat.</a> These are all high-end, quality goods that have historically proved to retain the value paid for them or even become more valuable over time, often significantly."A lot of people turn from a hobby to a business in the watch game," he said. "A lot of collectors that I know that used to buy from me, after a while they started buying for investments - buying, selling, and trading."<div type="image" title="Avi &amp; Co." height="3578" width="5323" msid="76185484" hostid="261"></div>Though Bain reported in November that the <a href="https://www.bain.com/about/media-center/press-releases/2020/covid_19_crisis_pushes_luxury_to_sharpest_fall_ever_but_catalyses_industrys_ability_to_transform/">luxury goods market has fallen</a> 23% to $265 billion this year, very expensive items such as Hermes bags have long had a timeless quality, relatively untouched by financial discord and market downturns.And people love the brand as much as they ever have: When Hermes reopened some stores in mid-April after months of widespread closures amid the region's coronavirus lockdown, the brand brought in a whopping <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wealthy-chinese-shoppers-slurge-at-hermes-store-in-china-2020-4">$2.7 million</a> in just one day at its flagship store in China alone.In October, Hermes released its Q3 finances, revealing it beat expectations with <a href="https://robbreport.com/style/fashion/hermes-rebounding-2020-4-2-sales-growth-q3-1234576757/">$2.1 billion third-quarter sales,</a> boosted by demand in Asia. <a href="https://wwd.com/business-news/financial/hermes-swings-back-to-growth-in-q3-with-4-2-sales-rise-1234642148/">WWD's Mimosa Spencer reported in October</a> that HSBC analysis estimated a constant rate growth of only 0.4% for the period, but Hermes saw 6.9%. Hiaeve said <a href="https://www.richardmille.com/">Richard Mille</a> is the Hermes of watches, and the brand just released a $310,000 Chronograph, touted by the brand to be <a href="https://robbreport.com/style/watch-collector/richard-mille-debuts-rm-65-01-automatic-split-seconds-chronograph-1234587503/">one of its most technically complex timepieces</a>. On the resale market, Mille consistently goes up in value. Hiaeve told Insider he's seen some go from $100,000 to $120,000, up 20% to 30%, every few months. Celebrity watch collectors clearly agree: <keyword id="248848" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Drake">Drake</keyword> has one that costs at least<a href="https://www.gq.com/story/watches-of-the-week-4-6-19-drake-richard-mille"> $750,000</a>.The resale market is key to the watch sector. Deloitte's 2019 "<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/here-are-the-11-best-watch-investments-for-aspiring-collectors-2020-6">Global Powers of Luxury Goods</a>" found that the average annual sales from the top 32 watch and jewelry companies topped $2 billion in 2017, and a 2018 Bain report stated that the secondhand market was worth nearly $25 billion, with watches and jewelry making up over 80% of all secondhand market purchases. The next best investment after Richard Mille, Hiaeve said, is a <a href="https://www.rolex.com/">Rolex</a>. Not just because they are beautiful, but because they also retain their value. From there, <a href="https://www.audemarspiguet.com/en/">Audemars Piguet</a> - Bieber bought one in 2019 for<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/justin-bieber-audemars-piguet-watch-wedding-gift-hailey-baldwin-2019-10"> $50,000</a> as a "lil wedding gift" to himself. Patek Philippe is also a solid choice - Jay-Z owns one worth at least <a href="https://www.gq.com/story/watches-of-the-week-12-21-19">$2.2 million</a>. "[Richard Mille is] the most expensive," Hiaeve says, before revealing that he sold one for almost $3 million. "It's not just the craftsmanship, it's the supply and demand. They only make maybe four or five thousand watches a year. So you can't really get them."<h2>Wealthy people are still buying watches amid the pandemic </h2>Adam Golden, the owner of Menta Watches, told GQ's Wolf back in April that while his overall watch sales had declined, the pandemic brought new opportunities his way - like a German client who wants to "park some money" in a $300,000 portfolio of watches instead of in the stock market and requested Golden's help putting that portfolio of "stable watches" together.<div type="image" title="Rolex Sky Dweller" height="2772" width="3696" msid="76185487" hostid="261"></div>Before the coronavirus pandemic hit and destabilized global financial markets, the luxury sector was still recovering from the impact of the Hong Kong protests, which saw Swiss watch imports to the region <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/11/fashion/watches-hong-kong-protests.html">decline by 26.8%</a> in comparison to 2018. Facing the coronavirus pandemic, the luxury watch industry was <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-19/rolex-shuts-plants-as-watchmakers-prepare-for-worst-year-ever?srnd=style">preparing for its worst year</a> yet. In March, Rolex <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-19/rolex-shuts-plants-as-watchmakers-prepare-for-worst-year-ever?sref=BLKWHazc">shut down all of its Swiss factories</a>, while Richemont, the luxury conglomerate that owns Cartier, had discounted secondhand pieces on its vintage resale site, Bloomberg's Corinne Gretler reported at the time. Watch fairs <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-coronavirus-is-impacting-the-luxury-sector-and-watch-industry-2020-3">throughout the world</a> were called off, while smaller and newer brands braced for impact to their bottom lines.That was then. Now, the so-called <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/ba7f00b8-9521-48fa-bfc6-91f223a729b0">"K-shaped" recovery is taking hold,</a> where the high end is thriving as smaller businesses and poorer workers fare worse and worse. For watches and in luxury, the big names, with their proven investment value and timeless appeal, are intact. It goes back to the mantra mentioned before: Pandemic or not - those who want to buy a Rolex, or an $800,000 Patek Philippe, a $2.2 million Richard Mille or a Salmon Dial Audemars Piguet Royal Oak $441,000, will always find a way to get one.

A millennial entrepreneur who runs a high-end watch retailer explains why now is the time to invest in watches - and which timepieces are the most valuable

<keyword id="218062" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Dwight-Howard">Dwight Howard</keyword> played the role of Santa Clause for the Houston Rockets this <keyword id="8206" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Christmas">Christmas</keyword>, giving many of his teammates expensive watches before their game against the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday.
Howard was obviously in the gift-giving mood this year after signing a four-year contract worth $88 million over the offseason:
<iframe width="612" height="710" frameborder="0" src="//instagram.com/p/iU23O9Mo4I/embed/"></iframe>"Santa aka <a href="http://instagram.com/dwighthoward" data-reactid=".r[4n6zi].[0].[1].[0].[0].[0].[0].[0].[0].[1].[1].[0].[0].[0].[0].[1].[2][1].[1]">@dwighthoward</a> given out Rolex's for Christmas...." - Aaron Brooks 
James Harden's Audemars Piguet:
<iframe width="612" height="710" frameborder="0" src="//instagram.com/p/iU3oCptlWX/embed/"></iframe>"S/O to my guy!!!! <a href="http://instagram.com/dwighthoward" data-reactid=".r[5e93].[0].[0].[0].[0].[0].[0].[1].[1].[0].[0].[0].[0].[1].[2][1].[1]">@dwighthoward</a> got me the AP I wanted for Christmas. That's love bro"
Chandler Parson's Rolex: <iframe width="612" height="710" frameborder="0" src="//instagram.com/p/iU4VOxnsc1/embed/"></iframe>
"Thank you <a href="http://instagram.com/DwightHoward" data-reactid=".r[5rbym].[0].[0].[0].[0].[0].[0].[1].[1].[0].[0].[0].[0].[1].[2][1].[1]">@DwightHoward"</a>
Greg Smith's Rolex: <iframe width="612" height="710" frameborder="0" src="//instagram.com/p/iU2pN3E4FS/embed/"></iframe>
"Thanks to the big homie <a href="http://instagram.com/dwighthoward" data-reactid=".r[5x3w6].[0].[0].[0].[0].[0].[0].[1].[1].[0].[0].[0].[0].[1].[2][1].[1]">@dwighthoward</a> man got ya boy his first Rolex!!!"

Dwight Howard Bought Expensive Watches For His Teammates For Christmas

Anant Ambani gifts Audemars Piguet watches

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A millennial entrepreneur who runs a high-end watch retailer explains why now is the time to invest in watches - and which timepieces are the most valuable

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Dwight Howard Bought Expensive Watches For His Teammates For Christmas

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