Top 10 Most Expensive Gold Items in the World

Chairman Mao is a controversial figure in Western culture, but he is still highly revered in China. In 2013, when a golden statue of this political leader was unveiled, it immediately became a major attraction for the Chinese public. The statue, depicting Mao sitting on a golden chair, is valued at $16 million. Its price is due to both the material (gold) and its cultural significance. A team of 20 artists worked for 8 months to complete this $16 million statue.

The golden and jade statue of Mao Zedong, worth over $16 million, was unveiled as part of the latest demonstration of China’s Communist Party’s hesitation in how to commemorate its 120th anniversary. According to China National Radio (CNR), the statue is 80 cm tall (32 inches) and weighs more than 50 kg. It was displayed in a bustling town south of Shenzhen. CNR reported that a team of 20 artists spent 8 months completing the piece, which cost 100 million yuan ($16.5 million). It features precious stones and is set on a base made of white jade. After being displayed in Shenzhen, the statue will be placed in the Mao Zedong Memorial in his hometown of Shaoshan.

Luxury smartphones and expensive phone cases are nothing new. Vertu once created an Android phone priced at $9,600, and London Lotus crafted a $300,000 crystal iPhone case. However, Stuart Hughes, a renowned designer of custom electronic devices, took it to another level with the $15 million iPhone 5, said to be the most expensive smartphone ever produced. The phone features a solid gold frame handcrafted by Hughes. The real cost, however, lies in the world's most expensive Home button.

This Home button is made from a deep-cut 26-carat black diamond, valued at $14.5 million. The diamond is just the beginning. The back of the phone and its edges are adorned with 600 perfectly cut white diamonds. British designer and jeweler Stuart Hughes had previously made luxury Apple products, such as his Solid Gold iPhone ($33,678) and the Supreme Fire Edition iPad ($168,424).

Most of us are familiar with the Ming Dynasty, or at least we’ve heard the name in relation to some of the world's most expensive vases. Dating back to the Ming period, this golden tripod vessel is crafted from 18-karat gold. It’s also decorated with cabochon gemstones, rubies, natural pearls, jade, and chrysoberyl cat's eye stones. Just looking at the intricate detailing and craftsmanship that went into creating such a refined piece is awe-inspiring! This gold tripod with pearl and ruby inlays, carved with dragon designs, is said to be one of only eight surviving examples of early Ming Dynasty goldware.

A rare Ming Dynasty golden tripod vessel adorned with gemstones was sold for 116.8 million Hong Kong dollars ($14.8 million) in a Sotheby's auction in Hong Kong, breaking the record for any Chinese metalwork. This was one of many records broken during Sotheby's sales of Qing and Ming Dynasty artworks and royal porcelain. The ewer is beautifully decorated with enamel panels, a gold handle, and a spout shaped like a dragon’s mouth, inlaid with precious stones.

In a single day, German artist Niclas Castello’s masterpiece, The Castello CUBE, was placed in New York’s Central Park. This 24-karat solid gold cube, weighing 999.9 grams, was valued at approximately $11.7 million. According to the artist’s team, the cube was not for sale. Prior to the official unveiling, Castello attracted public attention by circulating the exact coordinates of the location on black trucks around Times Square. Measuring over one and a half feet on each side, the 'Castello CUBE' is hollow with walls only a quarter inch thick.

The golden cube was cast at the H. Rüetschi Art Foundry in Switzerland using a specially designed furnace, necessary for its size and weight. The extreme heat of up to 1100°C was required to melt the gold. Weighing 410 pounds, the piece was guarded by tight security. According to Artnet News, Castello described the concept as 'creating something beyond our world, something invisible,' referring to it as a conceptual work in all aspects. Known for his highly acclaimed 'Cube Painting' in 2016, Castello often presents works inspired by Andy Warhol's perspective.

Once owned by Emperor Shah Jahan of India, the Taj Mahal Necklace was gifted to his beloved queen. The diamond, known as the Taj Mahal diamond, was named after the iconic monument the Emperor built for his queen. In recent years, the diamond was acquired by Richard Burton, who gave it to his wife, the legendary Elizabeth Taylor, whose love for diamonds became part of her enduring legacy. Burton famously joked that he would buy the actual Taj Mahal if he could, but it would be too expensive to ship.

Following Taylor's passing, many of her iconic jewelry pieces were sold at auction. Among them was the heart-shaped diamond pendant, estimated to be worth around half a million dollars. However, no one anticipated the power of the inscription “Love is Everlasting” engraved in Parsee script. An anonymous bidder secured the Taj Mahal Diamond Necklace for a staggering $8.8 million, making it one of the top items sold from Taylor’s collection of 80 pieces of jewelry.

A Japanese jeweler crafted a solid gold statue of Barcelona’s favorite player’s left foot, weighing 25kg, made from a mold created in Tokyo. Messi, who was named the world’s best player for the fourth consecutive year after winning the prestigious Ballon d'Or in January, also has several smaller pieces created by Ginza Tanaka. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the left foot statue will be donated to those affected by the earthquake and tsunami in Japan through the Leo Messi Foundation.

In 2012, Messi shattered every record by scoring an unmatched 91 goals for both his club and country, surpassing the previous record of 85 goals set by Germany's Gerd Muller in 1972. To date, he has scored 50 goals in the current season, helping Barcelona lead La Liga. The statue of his left foot was created in Spain at the end of 2012, the same year Messi set his legendary 91-goal record. Whoever purchases this iconic statue will contribute to Messi’s charity fund, with part of the proceeds directed to an NGO that supports children in Japan’s disaster-stricken regions.

If you’ve never heard of an 'ewer,' don’t be too curious—it’s essentially just a type of pitcher! However, an ewer made of gold is certainly more valuable than one made of ceramic. And a golden ewer that’s several centuries old is bound to be even more precious. This Ming Dynasty Ewer, valued at $4.13 million, was sold at a Sotheby’s auction in 2010.

This Ming Dynasty Ewer has the appearance of a large genie lamp, in part due to its Persian design and the precious stones that adorn it. Its value comes from much more than just the tourmaline and jade that cover its surface. This decorative vessel is about 400 years old and is a unique Chinese artifact that cannot be replicated. Of course, the fact that it’s made of gold is one of the main reasons it fetched millions at auction.

The most expensive golden artifact in the world is the Golden Buddha Statue. While many Buddha statues are crafted from precious materials, none are as exquisite as the one seated in Wat Traimit Withayaram Worawihan. This massive statue is worth a staggering $250 million, with its creation dating back to the 13th and 15th centuries. So, it’s not just a golden treasure in the shape of a popular religious figure, but a priceless historical artifact as well! But if you’re thinking about purchasing this statue, you may want to rethink your plans. It remains a highly prized possession that has likely not been sold, housed within its crumbling temple in Bangkok.

The origins of this statue are not definitively known. It is designed in the Sukhothai style from the 13th–14th century, though it could have been made after that period. Its egg-shaped head suggests a Sukhothai origin. Given the Sukhothai art's Indian influence and the metallic Buddha images crafted in India, which were spread across various countries during the Pala period, this statue stands as a testament to that era. Weighing 5.5 tons, this statue represents a significant portion of the world’s total gold supply. Just this fact alone gives it immense value. But the fact that it represents the Buddha (and its significant historical placement) makes it truly priceless.

In 1933, Patek Philippe of Geneva crafted the "Supercomplication" for banker Henry Graves Jr., a gold pocket watch with 24 functions. The watch, which took Patek Philippe 3 years to design and 5 years to build, was priced at 60,000 Swiss Francs in 1933 (about $15,000 at the time). It is regarded as the most complicated mechanical watch ever created, with only one piece ever made. This gold watch is composed of 920 individual parts, including 430 screws, 110 wheels, 120 removable parts, and 70 jewels, all hand-crafted. The watch also features a minute repeater, dual dials, and a double-open face with Westminster chimes, along with a chronograph for large and split-second timing, a 60-minute and 12-hour register, and a perpetual calendar accurate until the year 2100.

Among its many features are a dual face, perpetual calendar, moon phases, a stopwatch capable of timing two events simultaneously, Westminster chimes, and indicators for sunrise and sunset times, along with a celestial chart showing the night sky over New York’s Central Park, as seen from Graves’s Fifth Avenue home. After 3 years of design and another 5 years of production, the watch was delivered to Henry Graves on January 19, 1933. The Supercomplication held the title of the world’s most complex mechanical watch for over 50 years, with a total of 24 different functions.

According to Reuters, the Double Eagle coin is the last gold coin to have been issued in the United States. The value of this specimen is derived from its status as the only surviving legal private property 1933 Double Eagle. President Theodore Roosevelt commissioned the coin in the early 1900s, working with the country's renowned sculptor, Augustus Saint-Gaudens. Despite battling terminal cancer, Saint-Gaudens carefully undertook the task. The final design of the Double Eagle is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful coin designs ever made. First minted in 1907, the coin features an image of Lady Liberty striding forward on the obverse, with an eagle soaring on the reverse.

As Owen Edwards reported for the Smithsonian in 2008, the sculptor used Harriette Eugenia Anderson, a famous African American model from South Carolina, as the model for Lady Liberty. The coin was minted and released during the Great Depression, a time when many people hoarded gold. This led to the cessation of the U.S. Mint's gold coinage operations, making the 1933 Double Eagle one of the last coins of its kind. As such, it holds immense historical significance, crafted from one of the most valuable metals in the world.