Swiss luxury watchmaker Patek-Philippe made a most extraordinary watch in 1937, which was almost lost to history. Called the Reference 96 Quantieme Lune, it is one of many artifacts from a Phillips Sale currently on tour, starting at the auction house’s new Asian headquarters in Hong Kong, before heading to auction.
The extremely rare watch, completed at the start of World War II, is significant for having belonged to Aisin-Giro Puyithe last emperor of China’s Qing dynasty, although it is unclear how or when he obtained the watch.
Puyi’s remarkable rise and fall is dramatized in Bernardo Bertolucci’s 1987 film the last emperor. Adapted from Puyi’s autobiography, written in 1964, it was the first Western production authorized by the People’s Republic of China to shoot in Beijing’s Forbidden City, where Puyi lived as a child.
Puyi ascended the throne in 1908 – aged just two – until he was forced to abdicate in 1912, following the Chinese Revolution. In 1934, he was named emperor of the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo in Chinese territory. It was at this time that he came into possession of the watch. When Japanese forces surrendered to the Allies in 1945, Puyi was captured by the Soviets and served five years in a Siberian prison.
During these five years, a Soviet official who spoke fluent Mandarin served as Puyi’s interpreter and tutor. After his release, Puyi was allowed to return to China and lived as a civilian until his death in 1967. The watch and other artifacts were gifted to the Russian guardian and only recently surfaced.
A Patek Philippe Reference 96 Quantieme Lune watch and a leather-bound edition of Confucius Analects, formerly from the Aisin-Giro Puyi collection. Courtesy of Philips.
The importance of the watch cannot be overstated. The Reference 96 was a revolutionary design featuring a draft movement mechanism, designed by Victorin Piguet in 1929, and a modernist Bauhaus-inspired platinum Calatrava case by Antoine Gerlach.
Notably, the revered watch was adorned with a moon phase indicator and a three-date calendar, a testament to The ingenuity of Patek Philippe to pack functionality into slim models – a feat thought impossible at the time. These horological innovations were, however, abandoned at the onset of the Great Depression and the war.
Phillips said only seven examples were previously known, this rarity making this number eight. Of the current eight examples, only three feature that particular silver dial and enamel Arabic “Roulette” configuration, one of which is in the Patek Philippe museum in Geneva – after the company snapped it up for 2 million dollars at auction in 2002 – and the other was sold to a private collector in 1996.
A paper fan with a poem personally inscribed by Aisin-Giro Puyi. Courtesy of Philips.
The coin is estimated to reach seven figures when sold by Phillips later this year, in association with Bacs and Russo. In addition to the Patek, the auction will include an inscribed paper fan, a handwritten notebook, watercolors and a copy of Analects by Confucius – all belonging to Puyi while he was imprisoned.
The collection will be exhibited in Hong Kong from March 18 to 31 before traveling to New York, Singapore, London, Taipei and Geneva. The auction date has not yet been announced.
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