Description:

Warhol Andy

Elgin gold plated pocket watch, 2" in diameter, with an ornate pattern to the back of the watch. The watch boasts impeccable provenance, combined with a solid chain of custody. Purchased directly from Warhol's estate at the 1988 Andy Warhol Estate Auction held at Sotheby's in New York, the watch has since remained in the hands of one single owner, John Reznikoff. The watch will be accompanied by a several important pieces of provenance, including a signed letter from John Reznikoff stating chain of custody ownership, in addition to the original Sotheby's catalogue of the Warhol estate auction and a copy of Sotheby's hang-tag for the lot. John Reznikoff, President of University Archives, is the leading historical document authenticator. He authenticates for PSA, JSA, R&R Auctions as well as many other auction houses, dealers and collectors. Authenticating the origin of a watch is most often impossible, and with an example such this spectacular Andy Warhol pocket watch purchased directly from the Warhol estate and having been held by only one prominent owner/collector is impossible to find.

 

Warhol had an appreciation for art which translated into his penchant for luxury watches. He was once quoted saying “I don’t wear a [Cartier] Tank watch to tell the time. In fact, I never wind it. I wear a Tank because it’s the watch to wear.”  Warhol himself was an avid collector of watches said to own over 300 pieces, the most beloved of which he kept in a canopy hung over his bed. 

 

His demise left millions of fans around the world in a state of shock – and caused a giant, administrative headache for the people tasked with carrying out the wishes of his will, which were that the vast majority of his hugely valuable estate should be used to establish the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. One element of that involved clearing out his rambling New York town house on 66th Street which was found to contain a remarkable number of objects spanning a vast range of collecting disciplines from Impressionist pictures to classical American furniture, from folk art to art deco and from fine jewelry to cookie jars – he had amassed hundreds of the latter, which ultimately sold for almost $250,000. The job of dispersing the collection was left to Sotheby’s, which set aside a remarkable 10 days in the spring of 1988 during which to offer each and every item to the highest bidder. It was the most extensive auction the house had ever staged in New York and it made headlines around the world both before and after – not least when the total raised was announced to have been $25.3 million.

 

Since the day of Sotheby's Warhol estate auction now over 30 years ago only the smallest handful of items have come back up for sale. The pieces from Warhol's estate were highly prized by their owners and many were donated to institutions.  Many people consider this to be the beginning of the celebrity auction craze. 

This is a rare opportunity to own an elegant pocket watch once owned by Andy Warhol with superb provenance and would be a great addition to any watch collection. In excellent working order.

Accepted Forms of Payment:

American Express, MasterCard, Money Order / Cashiers Check, Paypal, Personal Check, Visa, Wire Transfer

Shipping

Applicable shipping and handling charges will be added to the invoice. ***PLEASE NOTE: IF YOU WOULD LIKE YOUR SHIPMENT TO BE SENT TO AN ADDRESS OTHER THAN THE ONE YOU HAVE ON FILE WITH INVALUABLE, YOU WILL NEED TO INFORM US OF THIS AS SOON AS PAYMENT IS SUBMITTED FOR YOUR WINNINGS*** Shipping and handling costs are competitive as we maintain discounted contracts with FedEx. If you have any questions, contact University Archives prior to bidding. After payment has been made in full, University Archives will ship your purchase within 5 business days following receipt of full payment for item. We currently ship via FedEx but if your purchase is shipping to a P.O. Box, we ship via USPS. All items are insured. We ship from our offices in Westport, CT. We may opt to use a third party shipper for very fragile, bulky or oversized items. Items requiring third party shipping will be denoted in the item description. Packages shipped internationally will have full value declared on shipping form. International buyers will be responsible for any customs fees incurred.

Please remember that the buyer is responsible for all shipping costs from University Archives' offices in Westport, CT to the buyer's door. Please see full Terms and Conditions of Sale.

University Archives

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Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $99 $10
$100 $299 $20
$300 $499 $25
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $2,999 $200
$3,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 + $5,000