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£ 470 paid for the monarch’s gift box
A unique gold watch of King Ferdinand I will be auctioned online by world auctioneer Sotheby’s in Geneva, Switzerland on Monday.
The minimum expected price is 12,000 Swiss francs. This makes the watch one of the most valuable items in the auction, which has been declared “Masters of time: the charms of the East”.
The watch is manufactured by world leader Patek Philip. The most valuable thing is that it is a complete original package. Even in its box are the operating instructions. The original certificate of origin is also attached. A certificate was added from the company’s archives, confirming that the watch was manufactured in 1893 and sold on June 30, 1986.
The movement of the watch is number 97314, and on its cover is the Ferdinand monogram. The same symbol is on the case, which is made of leather and velvet with the number 217164, and on it are the “Patek Philip” and “Calatrava” stamps.
Calatrava is the most prestigious collection of the Swiss manufacturer, which still exists today.
The Geneva-based company is perhaps the most famous watchmaker. It began on May 1, 1839 and was founded by the Poles Frantisek Tsapek and Anthony Patek and was called “Patek, Tsapek and company”. The two parted ways exactly 6 years later. Tsapek manufactures “Tsapek and company”, and Patek becomes a partner of Frenchman Adrien Philippe. It makes the first mechanism that is not wound with a key.
Its watch owners include Queen Victoria, Queen Elizabeth II, Pope Pius IX, Marie Curie, Albert Einstein, John F. Kennedy, Nelson Mandela, Pablo Picasso, Peter Tchaikovsky and Leon Tolstoy.
At the same time, the other auction leader, Christie’s, announced the results of an auction that sold the cigarette case that Ferdinand had given him when he was still a prince. He was paid £ 470 in London, and the highest expected price was £ 400. The cigarette case represents the prince’s coat of arms, on which there is a small pink diamond.
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