The saga of John Lennon’s Patek Philippe has captivated the watch world for years.
Ignited by a famous photo of Lennon proudly displaying his watch for the camera shortly before his 1980 murder, it had long been considered lost — a horological myth.
Hodinkee explained the obsession with the timepiece in its extensive history of the watch when it wrote, "It's collector catnip: John Lennon, one of the most famous people of all time, wearing a Patek Philippe ref. 2499 perpetual calendar chronograph, one of the most important watches ever."
A Swiss court ruled this week in an ownership dispute between Yoko Ono and an Italian watch dealer that the Patek belongs to Ono, according to Bloomberg, closing the loop on a long and winding story spanning decades.
Now, the Patek — considered one of the most valuable watches in the world — can finally have its story told.
A court filing reveals the watch was bought by Ono in 1980 and gifted to Lennon for his 40th birthday. Two months later, he was killed.
After his death, Lennon’s possessions were boxed up and inventoried. The watch was placed in a cupboard at her home.
In 2006, Ono’s private driver Koral Karsan — one of few people to have access to her home — attempted to extort her. He was deported to his home country of Turkey.
Hodinkee reported that in 2017, dozens of Lennon’s possessions (sans the Patek) were found in the inventory of a now-defunct auction house called Auctionata, which identified the source as a man named Erhan G., who had acquired them from Karsan.
Soon, more details came out. Erhan had approached Auctionata in 2013 attempting to sell the Patek. He signed a deal to sell the watch through Auctionata, which arranged a private sale to an Italian watch dealer for the price of €600,000. The dealer then brought the Patek to Christie’s, which reached out to Ono.
She had no clue the watch had ever left her cupboard in the first place. After checking her home for the treasured memento, Ono realized for the first time it had been stolen.
According to Hodinkee, Karsan claimed in a German court he received the property as a gift from Ono. The Swiss court filings pushed back against this version of the story: “It was a special object, one of the last gifts she had given to [Lennon]. She would not have given it to a third party under any circumstances.”
Ono attempted to regain possession of the watch through the U.S. legal system to no avail, ultimately resulting in the Swiss custody battle over the watch with the Italian dealer, who claimed they had no way of knowing whether or not it was stolen.
The dispute was finally settled this week, though the dealer can appeal the case one more time, according to Hodinkee.
Julian de Simone, the son of the Italian dealer, posted a video Thursday to YouTube, in which he tells “part one” of his story, claiming his father had gone to Christie’s in the hopes of being placed in touch with Ono, not to sell it, as originally believed.
If this watch was to find its way to public auction, estimates as to its value vary drastically. Hodinee writes in its complete history of the watch that conservative estimates place it around $4 million, while others believe the figure is more like $40 million.
Regardless of monetary value, Ono’s last gift to Lennon is now back in her possession, just as she believed it to be for decades.
Will Stern is a reporter and editor for cllct.