An exceptionally rare Patek Philippe wristwatch, once in possession of the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty in China, sold for a staggering HK$49 million ($6.2 million) at a Hong Kong auction, setting a new record. The watch was purchased over the phone by an Asian collector based in Hong Kong.
The auction house revealed that the bid price, excluding the buyer’s premium fee, stood at HK$40 million ($5.1 million).
Aisin-Gioro Puyi, the last ruler from the Qing Dynasty whose life story inspired the Oscar-winning film “The Last Emperor,” was the former owner of this timepiece. “This is the highest result for any wristwatch once owned by an emperor,” stated Thomas Perazzi, the head of watches at the auction house Phillips Asia, in an interview with Reuters.
Puyi’s watch, one of the mere eight existing Patek Philippe Reference 96 Quantieme Lune models, was gifted to his Russian translator during his imprisonment by the Soviet Union, thereby comfortably exceeding the pre-sale estimate of $3 million.
Other historical timepieces that have gone under the hammer include a Patek Philippe watch previously owned by the last Ethiopian Emperor, Haile Selassie, which sold for $2.9 million in 2017, and a Rolex from Vietnam’s last emperor, Bao Dai, which raised $5 million at an auction also in 2017.
Born in 1906, Puyi began his reign as the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty in China when he was just two years old. Post Japan’s defeat in World War II in 1945, Puyi was apprehended at China’s Shenyang Airport by the Soviet Red Army and was detained in a Russian detention camp in Khabarovsk for five years.
The auction house engaged in a three-year collaboration with watch experts, historians, journalists, and scientists to thoroughly research the timepiece’s history and authenticate its origins.
Perazzi revealed to Reuters that the watch was the finest Patek made then.
Russell Working, a journalist who interviewed Puyi’s interpreter Georgy Permyakov in 2001, reported that Puyi gifted the watch to Permyakov on his last day in the Soviet Union, shortly before his extradition back to China. “These were the kind of gestures he would sometimes make towards people he held in high esteem,” commented Working.
This historical sale represents the prestige of the Patek Philippe brand and the enduring interest in artifacts tied to significant historical figures. The astronomical sum paid for the wristwatch previously owned by China’s last emperor illustrates the continued fascination with imperial history and underscores that these pieces are viewed not merely as functional timepieces but as valuable historical artifacts that offer a tangible connection to a bygone era.
