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A Patek Philippe wristwatch once owned by China’s last emperor sold for more than $6 million at auction in Hong Kong on Tuesday.
The Ref 96 Quantieme Lune timepiece, which boasts a crown-like moon phase, originally belonged to Aisin-Gioro Puyi, the final monarch of the Chinese Qing dynasty. Emperor at the age of two in 1908, Puyi was immortalised by Bernardo Bertolucci’s Oscar-winning film “The Last Emperor,” but left a mixed legacy.
More than 20 years after being forced to abdicate, he was installed as the puppet leader of Japanese-occupied Manchuria, before he was captured in 1945 after the fall of Japan and taken to a Soviet prison camp.
British auction house Phillips said it had documentation that showed Puyi had brought the watch with him to the camp. It was expected to fetch about $3 million but, after about five minutes of spirited bidding, it was sold for HK$40 million ($5.1 million). With the buyer’s premium fee, the total price came to about $6.2 million.
