As reported by Hodinkee and Bloomberg, a Patek Philippe Ref. 5208P will soon be auctioned off by the Monaco Legend Group and its partner Antiquorum. Although no information on the starting bid is available, the auctioneer estimates that it may fetch up to US$1.6 million (RM6.81 million) in the auction, scheduled to be held on July 19. The original price tag of the Ref. 5208P is around CHF980,000 (RM4.29 million).
The 42mm platinum self-winding wristwatch contains a number of complications, including a minute repeater, a mono-pusher chronograph and an instantaneous perpetual calendar, and is one of the most complicated and impressive watches made by Patek Philippe.
According to Monaco Legend Group’s auctions director Annabelle Farras, so far from what they know this watch has been bought by a very important person to be given as a gift to Vladimir Vladimirovic Putin.
The unidentified buyer put down the Russian president’s full name as the owner on the certificate of origin of the watch at a Watches of Switzerland boutique in London in December 2015.
Nonetheless, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has dismissed the link and denied that the watch was presented to the Russian president as a gift.