A platinum Patek Philippe pocket watch owned by iconic crime boss Al Capone is headed to auction in New York.
Born in 1899, Capone is one of the most notorious US criminals in history. He led a network during the Prohibition era in Chicago. He was involved in organised crime and bootlegging and was eventually imprisoned for tax evasion. He died in 1948 and inspired films such as Scarface (1932) and The Untouchables (1987).
“Capone was allegedly unhappy with the ‘plain’ case of his Patek Philippe pocket watch and took it to his local jeweller to have it modified — and not with something common and cutesy like an engraving,” writes Cam Wolf for GQ.
“The first step was to ditch the original case it came with and replace it with solid platinum. Just imagine how heavy this watch was, like toting around several rolls of quarters.”
The pocket watch will be sold at the Sotheby’s Important Watches auction on 10 June, with a pre-sale estimate of $USD80,000 to $USD160,000.
The Patek Philippe timepiece is Art Deco style and contains 90 single-cut diamonds. While most of Capone’s wealth was seized following his conviction, the watch remained with the family. It was originally auctioned in 2015 in Sacramento, selling for $USD229,000.
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| Patek Philippe platinum pocket watch owned by iconic crime boss Al Capone. | |
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Credit: jewellermagazine.com
