Girard-Perregaux Vintage 1945 Jackpot Tourbillon

Long story short: You pull the little lever at the side of the case and the reels within begin to spin. Out of 125 possible combinations of bells, spades, diamonds, clubs and hearts, only one — three bells in a row — represents the jackpot, signified by the sound of a tiny mechanical gong within.

Go ahead — you know you want one.

$625,000 (£317,000; €470,000).

Oh, yeah, one last thing: though it's not described as a "limited edition," the complexity of its construction means no more than three are likely to be made each year.

So don't hem and haw too long.

A lot more fun than playing sudoku while you're waiting for the plane that never seems to arrive.

Here's a link to a detailed description of this triumph of the watchmaker's art.

[via Simon de Burton and the Financial Times]