Athletes, rappers, movie stars and celebrities have a lot of money and, more often than not, love to spend it on flashy and excessive items. Mansions, Italian sports cars, yachts and planes – these are all things the rich love to spend their money on. Sometimes it’s a practical purchase – after all, everyone needs a Maybach to drive the family around, but much of the time these celebrities buy things with a ‘look-at-me’ factor. In this instance, jewellery often fits the bill. More specifically, high-end watches are the order of the day thanks to their practicality and high visibility to onlookers.

The watch means so many things to different people. It can be just a piece to tell time, a fashion accessory, status symbol or collectible. They can have mechanical or electronic movements and analog or digital displays. Watches can be solar powered, battery powered or spring powered. They can also come with numerous functions and displays, called ‘complications’ which can tell us not only the time, but the date, altitude, time-zone, moon-phase and compass direction – to name but a few features. Today, there are numerous watch manufacturers offering countless varieties of watches which have many functions and styles at a range of prices. From a $50 Timex Ironman to a $10,000 Rolex Oyster Perpetual, there is a watch for everyone’s tastes and needs.

The following list looks at 10 of the most expensive watches to be sold or auctioned. What makes these watches so expensive? It depends on the maker and the direction they wanted to take their creation when they started building. Some are pricey solely for the fact they are built with extremely expensive materials. Others have a high price tag because of the time it took to finish the watch or the complexity of the design and movement. Some of these time-pieces date back to the 18^th century while some are a bit more modern. In any event you can be sure that the usual suspects most are familiar with will not be appearing here. Rolex need not apply, this list is far too rich for your blood.

10. Piaget, Emperador Temple – $3.3 Million

A Swiss luxury watchmaker, Piaget was founded in 1874 by George Piaget. Initially only concerned with the production of watch movements, Piaget began developing its own watches in the 20th century. To date, the most expensive Piaget watch is the Emperador Temple. This watch is actually a two-in-one with two faces hidden under each other, covered and surrounded in diamonds. One face is hidden behind 481 brilliant-cut, 207 baguette-cut and a single emerald-cut diamond. The other face has 162 brilliant-cut and 11 baguette-cut diamonds highlighting a Mother-of-Pearl dial and a tourbillon. The watch’s bracelet has a further 350 baguette-cut diamonds. Unsurprisingly, this one-of-a-kind watch sold quickly soon after it came onto the market.

9. Patek Philippe, 1928 Single-Button Chronograph – $3.6 Million

Founded in 1851, Patek Philippe & Co. was started when Polish watchmaker Antoni Patek teamed up with French watchmaker Adrien Philippe. Since then, the company has been known for producing time pieces of the highest quality. Looking at this 1928 watch, you may wonder why such a ‘normal’ looking watch can fetch such a high price. First, it’s a Patek Philippe which automatically ensures its build quality. Second, this particular cushion-shaped watch is the only surviving white gold version known to exist from Patek Philippe. Additionally, it has Breguet numerals and vertically positioned registers. Records show the watch was created especially for an anonymous buyer just one year before the Great Depression struck.

8. Patek Philippe, 1939 Platinum World Time – $4 Million

Get used to seeing this manufacturer a few more times. Patek Philippe aren’t just famous today for their high-end watches, they were famous almost as soon as they started making time pieces in the mid-19thcentury. Famous customers include Queen Victoria, Pope Pius IX as well as many other famous (and infamous) world leaders. The Patek Philippe Platinum World Time sold in 2002 for a then-record price of $4 million. While at first glance it doesn’t look like an overly complicated watch, the Platinum World Time had 41 cities, regions and countries stamped on a rotating bezel. The Platinum finish only adds to the quality and price.

7. Louis Moinet, Meteoris – $4.6 Million

Louis Moinet is one of the greats in clock making history. The inventor of the chronograph, Moinet learned much from working closely with another French clockmaker, Abraham-Louis Breguet. Famous customers of Moinet include Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe and Napoleon Bonaparte. The Meteoris is one of the more fascinating watches to be created. Technically, the Meteoris is a set of four tourbillon watches with each one being very distinct from the others. Fragments of meteors from Mars, the Moon, Mercury and an asteroid are all integrated into their own watch providing each with a unique look. As an added bonus, the four watch set comes with a mechanical solar system which also acts as a display for the four timepieces.

6. Breguet & Fils, No.2667 Precision Stop-Watch – $4.6 Million

Since the 18th century, the watches of Abraham-Louis Breguet have attracted crowds whenever they come up for auction. Breguet’s watchmaking skill was second to none and the quality of his products attracted the biggest names of his time. Notable customers and patrons of Breguet included Louis XVI, Napoleon Bonaparte, Tsar Alexander I, King George III, Arthur Wellesley and Queen Victoria. Helping Breguet to claim spot number six on this list is a two movement stop-watch. The 18 karat gold and platinum piece is, understandably, built to the highest standards. Sold in 1814 for a mere 5,000 francs (about $18,000 in today’s terms), this stopwatch commands a price of $4.6 million.

5. Hublot Big Bang – $5 Million

If Piaget showed us anything it’s that if you want to increase the value of a watch you should stick a lot of diamonds on it. This is a formula Hublot has followed to a tee. The Swiss-based maker took one of their ‘standard’ Big Bang watches as a template and went about finding the right sized diamonds to design and make a very high-end version. The result – a watch with 1282 precision cut and fitted diamonds, more than 100 carats of baguette diamonds and six emerald cut diamonds weighing more than 3 carats each. The final price was a whopping $5 million. Too much for most of us, but not Beyonce Knowles. The singer bought one for husband, Jay-Z, for his 43rd birthday.

4. Patek Philippe, ‘Calibre 89’ – $6 Million

Most of the other Patek Philippe watches on this list are relatively old creations. Not this one. In 1989, the Swiss luxury watchmaker decided to celebrate its 150th anniversary with what the company has called the most complicated watch in the world. It has 18 complications (features) and is two-sided. In addition to all the usual abilities you’d expect in a watch, this one includes such features as a star-chart, thermometer, sunrise and sunset indicator, chronometer, moon-phase indicator and full calendar with days, months and years. From start to finish it took 9 years worth of research, development and manufacturing to produce four of these watches.

3. Patek Philippe, Henry Graves Jr. Supercomplication Pocket Watch – $11 Million

In 1925 watch aficionado and banker Henry Graves Jr. commissioned Patek Philippe to create a unique pocket watch. The task was born out of a competition between Graves and automobile manufacturer James Ward Packard over who could get the most complicated watch made – a strange competition indeed. Eight years later the watch was complete. What Patek Philippe had created for Graves was the most complicated hand-made watch ever. Defined as ultra-complicated, the watch has 24 functions, including a perpetual calendar, the night sky of New York City, moon phases, a power reserve and sunrise and sunset indicators. Do you like it? If so, it’s due up on the auction block this November and experts say it will fetch at least $15 million this time around.

2. Chopard 201-Carat – $25 Million

Runner-up on today’s list is a watch – and I do use that term loosely- which looks as though it was created by a child with left over jewels, beads, glitter and a bunch of glue. That said, this creation by Swiss luxury watch maker Chopard isn’t really about the watch itself, but the 201 carats worth of diamonds covering it. In total there are 874 diamonds ranging in size and color with the largest being a 15 carat pink diamond. The three largest heart-shaped diamonds are linked to a spring-loaded mechanism which ‘opens’ them like petals on a flower to reveal the watch face. We’re sure the watch itself is of the highest quality. It’s just a bit hard to see past all of those glittering diamonds.

1. Breguet Grande Complication, Marie Antoinette – $30 Million

Before Abraham-Louis Breguet founded his watch-making business in 1775 he had made a number of connections with high society thanks to his apprenticeship and time as a math scholar. The highest of these social connections was surely the French Royal Family and, most notably, Marie Antoinette. The Queen was reportedly fascinated with Breguet watches and, depending on who you believe, it was either her or her lover, Count Hans Axel von Fersen, who commissioned Breguet to make a watch which contained all known functions at that time. Breguet began work on the project in 1782/83 and it was completed by his son in 1827. By this time, Marie Antoinette, Count von Fersen and Breguet were all dead. Watch-makers from Breguet were commissioned to make a copy of the Marie-Antoinette in 2005. Instead of the original 45 years, this one only took three.

When people are born into poverty, they will do everything in their power to change their living conditions. They have no choice but to start working at a young age, sometimes even before they become teenagers.

It’s hard to make it when you don’t have any connections in business, or sometimes even the proper education to get a career in a certain field, but some people find a way to do it. It takes a lot of dedication and sacrifice to prove that you are worthy of a job at a firm that pays well. But, when that’s the only way you can change your life for the better, you have no other choice. The people on this list are no strangers to working more than 12 hours a day in order to make ends meet, and because of their extraordinary work ethic, these people were bound to succeed.

However, even when you manage to go from rags to riches, the memories of the past still haunt you. This is the one and only reason why people on this list have continued working even after they made their first million.

If you’re ever unsure whether pursuing your dreams is the right choice, or if you simply can’t find the proper motivation in order to work hard, then these stories are perfect for you. Often, by reading about the hardships of others and how they managed to overcome them, people get inspired to change their own lives.

10. Ursula Burns – Net Worth: $3.5 million

Ursula Burns grew up in public housing projects in a neighborhood that was occupied by street gangs. She was raised by her mother who was her main inspiration and the woman that taught her not to feel hopeless even when she didn’t have any money. Her mother figured that the only way Ursula could get away from poverty was if she had a proper education. So, Ursula enrolled at NYU, and earned a degree in Mechanical Engineering. Shortly afterwards, she got an internship at the document management corporation Xerox. She is now the CEO of this company, and is known for becoming the first African-American female to lead a Fortune 500 company. Last year, Forbes even named her the 22nd most powerful woman in the world.

9. Chris Gardner – Net Worth: $60 million

If you have seen the movie The Pursuit of Happyness starring Will Smith and his son, you’ll probably know the story we’re about to tell. Chris Gardner was born in Wisconsin, where he experienced poverty as a child. He was surrounded by sexual abuse, alcoholism, illiteracy, and domestic violence as a kid. His stepfather would constantly beat him up when he was young, and eventually kicked him out of his house. Chris joined the Navy as soon as he finished high school. After coming back home, he barely made ends meet by selling medical supplies. He was always fascinated by finances, but didn’t have a college degree or any connections that would help him succeed in business. But, he managed to get a spot in a training program at large firm, which left him and his son homeless, but helped him learn something really useful. After his training was complete, he was offered a job at the firm, and even started his own company later (when he got enough money). He now has a net worth of around $60 million.

8. J.K. Rowling – Net Worth: $1 billion

J.K. Rowling is one of the most popular authors of our time, having written the Harry Potter book series. Her family never really had a lot of money when she was a child. After she graduated from college, she went to Portugal to be an English teacher. While living there, she met a journalist with whom she had a daughter, Jessica. However, their marriage quickly ended in a divorce, so Rowling decided to move back to Scotland. She could barely support her daughter due to the fact that she was on welfare. When she wasn’t spending time with Jessica, she was writing a book, hoping to become a published author and earn some money. The book was Harry Potter, and nothing has been the same for Rowling ever since. She currently has a net worth of $1 billion.

7. John Paul DeJoria – Net Worth: $2.8 billion

DeJoria got his first job when he was only nine years old because it was the only way he could support his family. But, selling newspapers and Christmas cards wasn’t enough to make ends meet, so he was eventually sent to a foster home. When he was a teenager, he got caught up in the street gang life in Los Angeles. At the age of 22, he became homeless for the first time. After working as a janitor and insurance salesman for a while, he managed to get back on his feet, and was even offered a chance to work at a hair product company called Redken. The company motivated him to start his own hair product company, and he hasn’t looked back since. He also co-founded Patron Spirits Company, which is known for its popular tequila. His current net worth is around $2.8 billion.

6. Oprah Winfrey – Net Worth: $3 billion

The story of Oprah Winfrey is a really inspiring one. Before Oprah managed to have one of the most popular talk shows of all time and become the richest African American of the last century, her life wasn’t glamorous at all. First of all, she was born to teenage parents in the rural part of Mississippi, where her life of poverty began. When she was young, all she would wear were dresses that her grandma made out of potato sacks. As a child, she was molested by her relatives. At 14, she became pregnant, but her son died in infancy. Afterwards, she went to live with her father, and that’s when her life started turning around. After winning a beauty pageant, she was discovered by a radio station. She began climbing up the ladder of the media world and eventually became a millionaire when her show went national. She was 32 at the time, and her life of hardships was finally over. She currently has a net worth of $3 billion.

5. Richard Branson – Net Worth: $4.8 billion

The man who established the popular record company Virgin Records wasn’t considered to be the brightest kid at school when he was young. As a dyslexic, Richard Branson never really managed to perform well at school. But, he was always interested in things that weren’t being taught in the classroom, so he started dipping his toes in the business waters at the age of 15. Unfortunately, following an incident, he was expelled from school the following year, which left him completely devastated. He even contemplated suicide, and wrote a suicide note. He got another shot at school after the note was discovered, but ultimately dropped out at the age of 16. Afterwards, he started a mail-order record company, which eventually turned into the popular Virgin Records we all know. Now, Richard has a net worth of $4.8 billion.

4. Jan Koum – Net Worth: $6.8 billion

Last year, Jan Koum became the man of the hour when it was announced that Facebook would be buying the company he co-founded (WhatsApp) for $19 billion. However, once he became a famous man, a lot was revealed about Jan’s past. He was born into poverty in a small village in Ukraine. Specifically, there was no hot water in his house, and his parents refused to use the phone because they feared it was tapped by the state. He moved to California when he was 16, where he used to work as a janitor at a grocery store to make ends meet. He also spent his teenage years collecting food stamps. However, by the time he turned 18, he was a self-taught computer hacker. Because of his high level of expertise, he managed to secure a job at Yahoo by the age of 21. He stayed in the firm for several years, until he decided that he wanted to have his own company. In 2009, WhatsApp was born, and Jan never looked back. He now has a net worth of $6.8 billion.

3. Li Ka-shing – Net Worth: $35.3 billion

The richest man in Asia wasn’t always so successful. In 1940, when China was at war with Japan, Li’s family had no choice but to move to Hong Kong. Unfortunately, upon getting there, his father got really sick, and eventually died of tuberculosis when Li was only 15 years old. So, Li had to leave school and start working in a factory (where he worked 16 hours a day) because it was the only way he could support the family. After 10 years of working for other companies, Li decided to take a step forward and establish his own – Cheung Kong Industries. The company got its start in the plastics market, but later switched to real estate. Li Ka-shing now has stakes in a variety of companies, and has a net worth of $35.3 billion.

2. Sam Walton – Net Worth: $21-23 billion (1992)

Sam Walton is the man that founded the multinational retail corporation Walmart. However, life wasn’t so good while he was growing up. He was raised on a farm in Oklahoma, where the only way to make ends meet was for him to milk the family cow and then hand-deliver the product to his customers. He also used to sell newspapers and magazine subscriptions. During his college years, he would work as a waiter in exchange for hot meals. When he turned 26, he decided to borrow $25,000 from his father, and using an additional $5,000 that he saved, he managed to purchase a variety store. He was very successful at running the store, so much so that he managed to open up the first Walmart only a few years later.

1. Andrew Carnegie – Net Worth: $475 million (1919)

Andrew Carnegie is the fourth richest man of all time (the fortune he managed to obtain during his lifetime is equivalent to $310 billion today). He was the man known for leading the immense expansion of the steel industry in America during the 19th century. However, he wasn’t always surrounded by wealth. After his father lost his job, Andrew had no other choice but to start working at a factory for 12 hours a day, 6 days a week. He got this job when he was only 13! But, it was the only way his family could survive. During these years, Andrew said that he would make himself fall asleep at night just to forget the misery of hunger. After saving up some money, he made a series of investments in railroad and oil companies, and learned a lot about business in general, which later on influenced him to build the world’s biggest steel company at the time. He donated 90% of his fortune to various foundations and charities.