In sheer dollar terms the 1949 Patek Philippe chronograph being offered in Christie’sâ Important Watches Featuring the Leo Collection in New York on June 16 isnât one of the most remarkable examples to cross the auction block, but the provenance of the piece is extraordinary indeed. The gold wristwatch, Ref. 1463, with breguet numerals estimated at $150,000 – $200,000 belonged to Howard Hughes, the dashing movie mogul portrayed by Leo DiCaprio in The Aviator. In the 1960s the increasingly-paranoid Hughes gifted the watch to a private detective who carried out a number of surveillance assignments for him, along with god knows what else.
Also featured in the sale is Roy Rogersâ Rolex, a stainless steel triple calendar chronograph Ref. 6036, manufactured circa 1952 and estimated at $40,000-$60,000, consigned from the estate of the so-called âKing of Cowboys”; and a rare and extremely important Patek Philippe Ref. 5016, the second most complicated wristwatch ever produced by the firm, a perpetual calendar, minute-repeating tourbillon with retrograde date and moon phases finished in platinum with a black dial, estimated at $350,000 – $500,000.
Photo: Christieâs Images Ltd.
