The Patek Philippe watch belonging to Puyi, the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty in China, was auctioned for a record-breaking $6.2 million in Hong Kong on May 23.
The watch of Emperor Puyi was auctioned for a record $6.2 million. (Photo: Reuters).
According to the auction house, an Asian collector residing in Hong Kong purchased the rare Patek Philippe watch that once belonged to Emperor Puyi, as reported by Reuters.
The sale price does not include the buyer’s premium, which was $5.1 million.
Thomas Perazzi, head of the watch department at Phillips Asia, stated that this is the “highest result” for a wristwatch that once belonged to an emperor.
The auction house noted that this watch is one of only eight Patek Philippe Reference 96 Quantieme Lune models, which was gifted by Emperor Puyi to his Russian interpreter.
Emperor Puyi, born in 1906, was the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty in China. He began his reign at the age of 2.
Phillips Asia spent three years collaborating with watch experts, historians, journalists, and scientists to research the history and verify the provenance of the watch. Perazzi mentioned that this is the finest Patek Philippe watch produced during that era.
Journalist Russell Working, who interviewed Puyi’s interpreter Georgy Permyakov in 2001, revealed that the emperor gifted the watch to Permyakov on his last day in the Soviet Union.
