Lennon’s missing Patek Philippe watch now found

THE mystery behind The Beatles’ John Lennon’s missing watch has finally been unravelled, as the priceless timepiece was discovered in Geneva after four decades.

The Patek Philippe Ref. 2499 Perpetual Calendar Chronograph watch was a gift from Lennon’s wife, Yoko Ono, to the musician for his 40th birthday.

A filepic of Lennon. — AFP

However, the valuable timepiece went missing just two months after his assassination in 1980 and had been lost for years, according to a report by The Straits Times.

Phillips auction house’s watch specialist Arthur Touchot broke the news of the particular Patek Philippe wristwatch resurfacing.

“It’s a crazy story, and I can’t believe I get to break it,” he wrote in an Instagram post last month.

According to his post, Lennon’s former driver stole the watch and it “later exchanged hands in Turkey ending in those of another man in 2010, who kept it three years.”

Touchot further detailed that the timepiece finally ended up at a German auction house where it was purchased by an Italian collector in 2014.

Court documents stated that the collector bought the watch for 600,000 Swiss francs.

Filepic of Yoko Ono. — AFP

In his Instagram post, Touchot further said “Four months later this collector found out the watch was stolen when he tried to have its value estimated by a Geneva-based auction house (not Phillips).”

Subsequently, reported The Straits Times, it set off a legal battle between the Japanese singer and the Italian collector on ownership rights of the Patek Philippe Ref. 2499.

Robb Report stated that a Geneva court ruled in June that Ono was the rightful owner of the watch but the collector had appealed the ruling.

The Straits Times, citing court filing, reported that Ono’s lawyers estimated the Patek Philippe watch could be valued at 4 million Swiss francs (S$6.1m).

Meanwhile, Touchot ended his Instagram post with this teaser: “We learn that the watch is engraved with a word in reference to the first song of an album they co-wrote shortly after a period of separation.”