A rare watch that once belonged to John Lennon is being given to his wife, Yoko Ono.
According to ‘Reuters’, the Patek Philippe watch was a 40th birthday gift from Lennon and was given to him in 1980. The company claims that the watch has the words “(JUST LIKE) STARTING OVER LOVE YOKO September 10, 1980 NYC” on it.
The watch is of great value. The store notes that its estimated value is $4.5 million and comes in 18-karat gold.
The jewelry had a long journey on its way back to Ono. It is believed to have changed hands and countries several times after being taken by Ono’s Turkish driver in 2006. At the time, he claimed he had been given permission to take the bronze lake from her.
After the watch arrived in Türkiye, it changed hands again and was eventually sold to an auction house in Germany, who sold it to an Italian citizen living in China.
The court heard she only discovered it had been stolen in 2014 after a Geneva-based company, commissioned by the Italians to assess its value, alerted her lawyers.
On November 14, a Swiss court ruled that the watch was not owned by the Italians and would be returned to Ono. It is now being held for safekeeping by the appellant’s solicitors in Geneva.
Ono and Lennon had a romance that is still talked about today. In the new book titled, We all shine: John, Yoko and me, written by Elliot Mintz, he details the aftermath of the musician’s death and how it affected his wife and his two sons, Sean and Julian.
In an excerpt from the book obtained by ‘The Times’, Mintz alleges that Ono became suspicious of those around her and was even warned that Lennon could be the target of an attack.
“Yoko, let me ask you something. If these advisors are as good as you believe, why didn’t any of them know what would happen to John? Why was there no warning?” he said.
“Elliot, how do you know I wasn’t warned? Did you ever ask me if there was any warning? Okay, I’ll ask you: Did any of your advisors warn you about John being in danger?” Are not?” Ono replied.
“Yes. I heard he was in danger in New York and he had to be deported immediately. That’s why I sent him to Bermuda for the summer.” […] But I can’t stay away from you forever. He has to come back at some point,” Ono said again.
Lennon was assassinated by Mark David Chapman on December 8, 1980, when the singer arrived at his apartment in New York City. He was shot four times in the back.
In August 1981, Chapman was sentenced to 20 years to life – five years less than the maximum sentence of 25 years to life. He is currently being held at Green Haven Correctional Facility.
Tags John Lennon, Yoko Ono