Many Patek Philippe collectors will have their eyes on a June watch auction in New York with a particularly sparkling pocket watch certain to attract attention.
If you’ve got around $160,000 then perhaps you could buy this little trinket once owned by Al Capone, murderous leader of the Chicago Outfit.
Capone is in so many ways the epitome of the American gangster. Born in poverty in New York to an Italian immigrant family, Al escaped the struggles of the slums with a certain amount of ingenuity, intelligence and a lot of violence and law breaking.
And this watch shows the rewards.
Standard issue was no good for AL, who had the watch initialled - on its custom platinum case - with his initials in diamonds. Image courtesy of Sotheby's.
It’s a Patek Philippe, just about the most exclusive and coveted watch brand in history.
A silvered dial, platinum case and diamond-set AL - the latter two customisations for the crime boss - make this no ordinary time piece.
Capone lived the high life. And he was a huge public figure, beloved to many for his generosity with the cash that bootlegging, gambling and sex-work rackets brought in to his Chicago HQ.
He’s had a lively life in popular culture too. You can see echoes of Capone in the gangsters of the Dick Tracy comic strips, where the FBI’s message that “crime doesn’t pay” was regularly broadcast.
Dick Tracy chatting with the FBI, who went after Capone but failed to tie much to him.
It was a message that didn’t reach Al though.
It was his lavish lifestyle that did for Capone in the end. He served time for tax evasion rather than the theft, violence and corruption that marked his gang’s rise to become one of the most powerful crime syndicates in the US.
Sotheby’s are selling the watch, which they describe as “a trophy in any collection”.
The watch carries a $160,000 high estimate into the Important Watches sale on June 10.
Capone ordered a platinum case for this watch, and decorated it with his name in 90 diamonds.
Sotheby’s say: “The dial has aged dramatically aged over the years, and the minute hand is no longer with the watch—we can only speculate as to how or why this happened, but suffice it to say, this watch has more than a few stories it could tell.”
A 1967 movie on Capone's most infamous crime (probably). He is one of the archetypes of American popular culture to this day.
A previous sale saw the piece make $229,900 in 2021 against a $50,000 estimate.
A Grandmaster Chime by Patek Philippe made $31.19 million in 2019, the most valuable watch sold at auction. A pocket watch by the Swiss makers, the Henry Graves Supercomplication realised $24 million in 2014.
Capone is collectible too. Just this week a rare, large signed photograph was sold for over $60,000. A major auction of memorabilia from the gang leader in 2021 made over £3 million, with his favourite gun making $860,000.
How much will this opulent relic of the great criminal do in 2025?
Frank James signed love letter
