Thanks to court documents filed with the New York Department of
State, the previously unknown owner of the most expensive watch ever
sold at auction has been revealed. The $11 million Patek Philippe
supercomplication pocket watch made for renowned collector Henry Graves
is now known to be owned by Qatari Royal Family member Sheikh Saud Bin
Mohammed Bin Ali Al-Thani. The Patek Graves Supercomplication was sold
by Sotheby’s in 1999 for a world-record $11,002,500. The high bidder at
the time? Anonymous.
In a bizarre and unfortunate turn of events for the Sheikh, the
Qatari Royal was forced to pledge the Graves Supercomplication (and
almost 240 other items valued at almost $83 million) to Sotheby’s to
cover debts owed to the auction house. Read the full story as reported last Friday by Bloomberg.
The 18-karat gold pocket watch made by Patek Philippe for banker Henry Graves Jr. in 1933.
It sold for $11 million in 1999 at Sotheby’s, a record price for any timepiece at auction.
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