Time Served: Al Capone's Pocket Watch for Sale
May 28, 25
(IDEX Online) - A platinum pocket Patek Philippe watch owned by Al Capone is to be sold by Sotheby's New York.
It has his initials spelled out, Art Deco style, in 90 single-cut diamonds (0.02 carats each/VS clarity/EF color).
Sotheby's describe it as "an exceptional embodiment of the extravagant style Capone was known for".
Capone (1899 to 1947) was one of the US's most infamous and ruthless gangsters. His bootlegging, gambling, extortion and prostitution empires generated an estimated $100m a year in the 1920s (equivalent to $1.8bn in today's money).
He was also known for his extravagant wardrobe and his signature fedora hat.
The watch, circa 1919, has an estimate of $80,000 to $160,000 - despite missing a minute hand.
Much of his fortune was seized by the US government after he was jailed - for tax evasion - in Alcatraz.
But the pocket watch remained in the family. Capone's widow Mae passed it on, with other heirlooms, to their only child, Sonny.
In 2015, Sonny's daughters sold it through Witherell's, an auction house in Sacramento, California, for $229,000, way above its $50,000 high estimate, and considerably more than its current estimate.
It is among of number of Patek Philippe watches being offered at Sotheby's Important Watches sale on 10 June.
Pic courtesy Sotheby's.