Estimated Price 4 Billion KRW... Qing Dynasty's 'Last Emperor' Wristwatch Up for Auction

Only 8 Patek Philippe Watches Worldwide
1.2-Inch Diameter with 'Moon Phase' Function Included

A luxury wristwatch worn by Puyi, the 'last emperor' of the Qing Dynasty, has been put up for auction.

On the 9th, foreign media including CNN reported that the watch listed at Phillips Auction is expected to be sold for over $3 million (approximately 4 billion KRW).

The Patek Philippe watch worn by Puyi, the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty, which appeared at a Hong Kong auction. The winning bid is expected to exceed 3 million dollars.
[Photo by Phillips Auction]

The watch up for auction is a Patek Philippe 'Reference 96 Quantieme Lune.' It has a 1.2-inch diameter platinum case, with Arabic numerals on the dial, and pink gold hour and minute hands. It also features a 'moon phase' function that shows how much of the moon is visible from Earth at a specific time.

This model was sold at a store in Paris, France in 1937 and is known to exist in only eight pieces worldwide. However, the background of how Puyi acquired this watch has not been revealed. Phillips Auction highly valued the watch not only for its rarity but also for its historical significance, as it was associated with Puyi, who lived a tragic life as a dethroned royal.

In addition to the watch, watercolor paintings and a red fan are also up for auction

Meanwhile, Puyi, who was the inspiration for the 1987 Oscar-winning film The Last Emperor, ascended the throne at the age of 3 in 1908 and abdicated at the age of 8 following the 1912 Xinhai Revolution.
[Photo by Wikipedia]

The route through which Puyi purchased this watch is unknown. According to records, it is presumed to have been sold at a luxury store in Paris, France. Phillips Auction stated that there are historical documents indicating that Puyi took this watch to a Soviet labor camp in Khabarovsk.

Phillips Auction said they investigated the history and provenance of the watch for three years. They quoted from the memoirs of Puyi’s nephew, Wei Yan, who was imprisoned with him, stating, "My uncle wore this watch every day while he was in Manchukuo."

Meanwhile, Puyi, who was the inspiration for the 1987 Oscar-winning film The Last Emperor, ascended the throne at the age of three in 1908 and abdicated at eight years old in 1912 due to the Xinhai Revolution.

Puyi escaped Beijing in 1924, allied with Imperial Japan, and became the emperor of Manchukuo under Japanese rule in 1934. After Japan’s defeat in 1945, Puyi was captured by the Soviet Union and later repatriated to China for war crimes trials. CNN explained that just before this, in 1950, he handed the watch over to Permyakov.

Nearly ten years after returning to China, Puyi was pardoned and lived as a civilian in Beijing. Permyakov kept the watch until his death in 2005 and passed it on to his heirs. In 2019, the owner who had the watch consigned it to Phillips Auction.

The watch has already been exhibited in New York, Singapore, London, and Taipei, then moved to Geneva, Switzerland, before returning to Hong Kong. It will be auctioned at Phillips Asia branch on the 23rd. In addition, Puyi’s personal items such as watercolor paintings, a red fan inscribed with poems, and notebooks are also up for auction.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.