In November 2014, Qatari Sheikh Saud bin Mohammed Al Thani unexpectedly died at his London residence.
He was only 48 years old. The circumstances of the death looked rather vague. The official medical report spoke of complications from heart disease.
But British newspapers immediately put forward a different version: the owner of the most expensive watch in the world died … because of their curse!
However, the sheikh himself had long wanted to get rid of the chronometer - and even put it up at Sotheby's in Geneva. The sale of the lot took place just two days after the death of the owner.
Saud bin Mohammad Al Thani, a close relative of the ruling emir of Qatar, was the country's culture minister from 1997 to 2005. He was involved in an ambitious program to establish world-class public museums in Qatar. Many of the pieces he collected are on display at the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha. He also collected furniture, jewelry, vintage cars, bicycles.
In 2005, he even suffered because of his passion for collecting: he was removed from office and, while the legality of his acquisitions was being investigated, was placed under house arrest. Ultimately, the Qatari justice system did not have any claims against the minister.
In contrast to the high court in London, which in 2012 froze some of the Sheikh's assets due to unpaid bills from auction houses.
Saud bin Mohammed Al Thani acquired the famous pocket watch 15 years before his death. Then they cost $ 11 million. The watch had its own name, Henry Graves Supercomplication, the title of "Holy Grail" among watches and, as many claimed, had the ability to bring misfortune to its owners.
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Envy
The history of their creation dates back to the 30s of the last century and concerns the friendship of the two richest people of that time - the American automobile tycoon Ward Packard and his compatriot banker Henry Graves Jr. Both were avid collectors.
It is known that at an auction held in 1936, a painting by Albrecht Durer from the collection of Henry Graves Jr. was sold for $ 10,000 - a very impressive amount at that time.
Graves was born into a family of bankers and increased his parents' multimillion-dollar fortune by investing in railways and banking.
The collectible hobbies of both friends were works of art and expensive watches.
Both were interested in the products of the Swiss watch company Patek Philippe and jealously followed each other's acquisitions. In 1916, Ward Packard commissioned a watchmaker from Geneva to order a chronometer with 16 complications, such as a sky map and sunrise and sunset times for the area.
The chronometer poured out the burning envy of Henry Graves, Jr. Friends made a bet that the banker's new watch would be the best in the world, and in 1925 Henry orders it from the same Swiss firm Patek Philippe.
An impossible dream - "The Holy Grail"
It took three years to design the watch, which was supposed to be the most expensive and most beautiful in history. And five more - to create a unique mechanism.
This pocket watch, with an 18-carat rose gold case, follows the dial of Westminster watches. Other features include a perpetual calendar, lunar phases, astronomical time, power reserve, and a display of New York City's night sky - and that part of it that Graves Jr. could observe from his city apartment.
The watch was named after the first owner - The Henry Graves Supercomplication. They consist of 920 parts, including 110 wheels and 120 levers. Their body is decorated with 70 precious stones. Product weight - 535 grams, diameter - 73.2 millimeters, thickness - 35 millimeters.
With a total of 24 additional devices, the watch retained the title of not only the most beautiful, but also the most complex in the world for a long time - and subsequently lost the palm only to watches produced using computer technology.
Another name for this masterpiece of watchmaking is the Holy Grail. This is how watchmakers called watches that would not need lubrication. However, the ghostly "Holy Grail" has always been a pipe dream for them.
The misfortunes of the first owner
In 1933, the banker was finally able to take the chronometer from the workshop, paying 15 thousand dollars. But the watch did not bring happiness to its owner.
The time of the Great Depression has come in the world. Compatriots, having learned about the crazy spending of Graves Jr., subjected him to the most severe criticism, because he acquired luxury goods at a time when many people were starving. The reputation was undermined, Graves' business suffered losses. The banker tried to ignore public condemnation - but the misfortunes continued.
A few months after the ransom of the watch, Graves Jr.'s best friend died. As befits an American banker, Henry steadfastly survived the loss, but the next trouble literally knocked him down. In 1934, Graves' son George was killed in a car accident. And 12 years before that, the banker's eldest son had died. He was 25 years old.
After the death of his second son, the millionaire told his loved ones that his new watch was cursed and he had to get rid of it. True, for some reason he never realized his intention.
Graves' daughter Gwendolen recalls that when her father was already over 60 (the years of his life as a banker - 1868-1953), he took her for a ride on a sea boat. During the walk, Henry Graves took the unfortunate watch out of his pocket and said that it was they who brought misfortune to his family, so they finally need to get rid of them. Graves wanted to throw them into the water. But Gwendolen begged her father not to do this - she really liked the watch. She took them for herself.
Sotheby's auction records
Subsequently, the chronometer was inherited by the son of Gwendolen, the famous rich man and collector Reginald Fullerton Jr.
The grandson tried to be like his grandfather in everything and treated the old watches very carefully. Each piece of his collection was in excellent working order. Neither working documents nor original parts have been lost. Like his grandfather, Fullerton personally wound all watches and cleaned them from time to time.
The collection of watches of the banker's grandson is recognized as the most historically significant in the 20th century. 13 out of 55 copies went to the grandson from his grandfather. The jewel of the collection, of course, was the Holy Grail watch.
Like his grandfather, Fullerton believed that they carried the family curse. The details of the life of the mighty of this world are rarely made public. One can only guess what kind of misfortunes brought the mystical watch to the new owner, but at some point Reginald refused to keep it in the house.
The Henry Graves Supercomplication chronometer was on display at the Museum of Time in Chicago - while Fullerton never showed his other watches to the general public. But something made him remove the best specimen from the collection!
After Fullerton's death, The Henry Graves Supercomplication watch was sold at Sotheby's under his will. With an initial price of three million dollars, the "damned" watch went under the hammer for the amount of 11 million, setting a world record for Sotheby's auction prices in its category.
The buyer wished to remain anonymous. The secret remained until 2014 - almost until the death of Sheikh Saud bin Mohammed Al Thani, who, as if wishing to prevent his imminent death, put The Henry Graves Supercomplication up for auction again.
The new appearance of unique watches on the market coincided with the 175th anniversary of Patek Philippe (the company was founded in 1839 by the emigrant Pole Anthony Patek and the French watchmaker Adrien Philippe).
The starting price was $ 16 million, the bidding result was $ 24 million. The Henry Graves Supercomplication has set a new world record, more than doubling its previous achievement 15 years ago.
What will happen next?
Who was not afraid to buy a "damned" watch? To the surprise of the journalists, the winning bidder was not anonymous. On the contrary, his name is widely known in the watch industry. This is the consultant of the auction house Philips, the former head of the international department of Christie's watches - Aurel Bax.
However, does this mean that he bought a chronometer for himself? Maybe yes, maybe not. Aurel Bax is known to collect watches, but he is also one of the highest paid consultants in the field - and may well have entered the auction on behalf of a wealthy client who wished to remain anonymous.
The newspapers even suggested that the watch may have been bought by the Stern family, who now own the Patek Philippe brand and dream of putting this piece of art in their watch museum.
Maybe the new owners believe that the watch, returning to the place where it was made, will lose its witchcraft abilities. Or maybe they expect that magical power will attract additional interest in the brands of an already famous company?
Victor SVETLANIN