Albert Einstein's pocket watch has just sold for $353,500

Albert Einstein's pocket watch has sold for £266,500 ($353,592) at Christie's.

The remarkable piece was among the star lots at the Valuable Books and Manuscripts sale in London earlier today.

Einstein pocket watch
Einstein acquired the watch in around 1900

It smashed its conservative ?�20,000 ($26,500) estimate by 1,232%.

Einstein acquired the watch circa 1900, the year he graduated from Zurich Polytechnic and finished his first scientific paper.

This was a formative period in Einstein's life. In 1902 he started work at the patent office in Bern and in 1905 (known as his annus mirabilis) he published four groundbreaking papers.  

Several other items associated with Einstein also sold.

The leather jacket he wore constantly from the mid-1930s onwards made ?�110,500 ($114,424), eclipsing its ?�60,000 ($79,452) valuation by 84.1%.


The jacket is stained from years of Einstein's pipe smoking

Christie's Thomas Venning explained Einstein chose the jacket primarily for its simplicity: "Einstein wore it all the time ��� a fact mentioned in the memoirs of fellow scientist Leopold Infeld, who worked with him at Princeton.

"Infeld explained that Einstein tried to keep material restrictions to a minimum. Long hair reduced the need for a barber and, he wrote, 'one leather jacket solved the coat problem for years'."

The Anker building blocks Einstein played with as a child realised ?�62,500 ($81,688) - up 681% on an ?�8,000 ($10,589) estimate.

According to his sister, he enjoyed creating complicated structures with the blocks.

Keen to get your hands on your own piece of Einstein memorabilia? Step this way�Ǫ

Please sign up to our free newsletter to receive exciting news about memorabilia auctions.

Featured products

Elvis Presley Authentic Strand of Hair
Elvis Presley Authentic Strand of Hair
Sale price£399
In stock
Fidel Castro signed certificateFidel Castro Signed Certificate
Fidel Castro signed certificate
Sale price£2,995
In stock
King Henry VIII Autographed DocumentKing Henry VIII Autographed Document
King Henry VIII Autographed Document
Sale price£55,000
In stock