Switzerland’s Supreme Court ruled Yoko Ono as the rightful owner of John Lennon’s Patek Philippe watch, stolen decades ago. The watch, Ono’s last gift to Lennon, had reappeared in a Geneva auction, sparking a legal dispute.
Yoko Ono is the rightful owner of a watch she gifted her husband, John Lennon, shortly before his death, Switzerland's supreme court ruled Thursday after it resurfaced at an auction house.
The highly rare Patek Philippe 2499 timepiece was given to the former Beatle on October 9, 1980, for his 40th birthday, two months before he was shot. The 18-carat yellow gold Swiss watch was stolen and passed through various hands before a collector took it to a Geneva auction house for a valuation in 2014. The auctioneers contacted Ono, who had been unaware that the watch was missing.
"Yoko Ono is the owner of John Lennon's watch," the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland ruled, dismissing the collector's appeal against a prior judgment by the Geneva Cantonal Court of Justice.
Ono purchased the watch in New York City in 1980 and had it engraved on the back with: "(JUST LIKE) STARTING OVER LOVE YOKO 10-9-1980 N.Y.C." Released in late October 1980, "(Just Like) Starting Over" was Lennon’s last single issued during his lifetime.
Lennon was tragically killed outside their apartment building in New York on December 8, 1980. The watch became Ono’s final gift to him.
Stolen by Ono’s Driver
The Patek Philippe was listed in Lennon’s estate inventory and kept in their apartment. A Turkish man, Ono’s driver from 1995 to 2006, handed over the watch to an intermediary in 2010, along with 86 other items belonging to Lennon, according to court documents.
It was later transferred to a German auction house and sold in 2014 for 600,000 euros to an Italian collector living in Hong Kong. Later that year, the collector brought it to a Geneva auction house for a valuation, triggering the auctioneers to alert Ono.
In 2018, the collector sought court action to establish ownership of the watch, which Ono opposed. A Geneva court ruled Ono as the sole owner in 2022—a decision upheld in 2023 by the Geneva Cantonal Court of Justice. The collector then appealed to the Federal Supreme Court, which upheld the cantonal decision.
The Supreme Court noted it was undisputed that Ono inherited the watch after Lennon’s death. The Cantonal Court found that the watch "had been stolen by the former driver," with no evidence suggesting Ono intended to gift "something as special as the watch," given its personal inscription.
Since the watch was stolen, the collector could not legally acquire ownership when he bought it in 2014, German law holds, regardless of whether the purchaser was in good faith.
Lennon’s watch is currently held by the Italian dealer’s lawyer under an agreement allowing release only to a court-designated owner. The watch is therefore expected to return to Ono, now 91.
With AFP
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