A watch belonging to the last emperor of China’s Qing Dynasty, whose life was the basis of the Oscar-winning film “The Last Emperor”, has sold for a record $6.2 million. at a Hong Kong auction on Tuesday.
An Asian collector based in Hong Kong bought a rare Patek Philippe watch that belonged to Aisin-Gioro Puyi over the phone, according to the auction house.
The hammer price, which excludes the buyer’s premium fee, was $5.1 million.
Thomas Perazzi, head of watches at auction house Phillips Asia, told Reuters it was “the greatest result” for any wristwatch that has ever belonged to an emperor.
The accessory is one of eight known Patek Philippe Reference 96 Quantieme Lune watches and was presented by Puyi to his Russian interpreter when he was arrested by the Soviet Union, the auction house said. The sale easily topped a pre-sale estimate of $3 million.
Other timepieces belonging to emperors sold at auction include a Patek Philippe watch that belonged to the last Ethiopian emperor, Haile Selassie, which sold for $2.9 million in 2017.
A Rolex watch that belonged to Vietnam’s last emperor, Bao Dai, fetched $5 million at auction in 2017.
Born in 1906, Puyi was the last emperor of China’s Qing dynasty, beginning his reign at the age of two.
After Japan’s defeat in World War II in 1945, Puyi was captured at Shenyang Airport, China, by the Soviet Red Army. He was detained as a prisoner of war and imprisoned in a detention camp in Khabarovsk, Russia, for five years.
Source: CNN Brasil
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