HONG KONG — A Patek Philippe watch that had once belonged to the last emperor of China, Aisin-Giro Puyi, has recently been sold for a whopping $6.2 million at an auction held by Phillips in association with Bacs & Russo. The elegant Patek Philippe Ref. 96 Quantieme Lune is a exquisite timepiece with a moon-phase indicator and a triple-date calendar on a silvered dial with a rose-gold chapter ring and enamel hour markers. The watch was one of just eight examples to exist, making it an incredibly rare item in the world.
The timepiece was expected to sell for half the amount, which is indicative of the extent to which buyers were interested in taking home a piece of history. A red fan and notebook that belonged to the Emperor also exceeded their auction estimates, leading to the entire sale fetching approximately $6.6 million.
After Japan’s defeat in World War II, Aisin-Giro Puyi was imprisoned for five years in a Siberian prison, where he befriended a translator to whom he gifted the Patek Philippe Ref. 96 Quantieme Lune.
The watch is not the first historic timepiece to sell for a record-breaking price. Previously, in 2017, a Patek Philippe watch owned by Ethiopia’s Haile Selassie was sold for $2.9 million, and a Rolex that had belonged to the last emperor of Vietnam, Bao Dai, sold for $5 million in the same year.
The Patek Philippe Ref. 96 Quantieme Lune, however, has broken records as “the highest result” for any wristwatch that had once belonged to an emperor, according to Thomas Perazzi, the head of watches at Phillips Asia.
As the world continually seeks to preserve and acquire historic relics from different eras, timepieces are becoming an increasingly attractive area of interest. With items such as the Patek Philippe Ref. 96 Quantieme Lune selling for record-breaking prices at auctions, it is a clear indication that people value historic significance and rarity highly, offering a way for buyers to connect with the past.
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