4 Best Luxury Timepieces That Feature Chinese Characters on the Dial

The First Wristwatches with Any Complications Debuted in the 1920S. the Great Depression Hit Soon After, Deeply Affecting the Watch Market and the Demand for Expensive Novelties. After the Market Recovered, Watchmakers Returned to the Challenge of Adding Complications.

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“Any Auction House, If They Didn’t Know the Story, If It Didn’t Have Any of This Extraordinary Ephemera Coming with It, Would Already Say, ‘Wow, This Is the Highlight of the Season, ’” Bacs Told Bloomberg.

A Friendship That Stood the Test of Time

During His Five Year's as a Soviet Prisoner, Puyi Formed a Close Friendship with His Russian Translator, Georgy Permyakov. One of His Personal Effects, a Red Paper Fan, Will Also Be Sold in the Phillips Sale. It’s Inscribed with a Poem Puyi Wrote and Dedicated to His Friend That Speaks of Their Unusual Friendship in the Most Difficult of Circumstances.

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Puyi Was Ultimately Repatriated to the Republic of China in 1950, Where He Thought He’d Be Executed. According to a First-Hand Account of the Emperor’s Nephew, Puyi Gave Permyakov the Patek Philippe Watch and Several Other Personal Items, Including His Edition of Confucius’s Analects, a Notebook Filled with the Emperor’s Musings and the Fan. Puyi Ended up at a Chinese Re-Education Prison for a Decade Before He Was Released to Live out the Rest of His Life as a Private Citizen.

The Last Emperor of China’s Patek Philippe Watch Is up for Sale: Aisin-Gioro Puyi Wore the Timepiece as a Captive of the Soviets in Siberia – and It May Fetch More Than Paul Newman’s Rolex at Auction

By Sarah Jenkins

• Oct 8, 2026 • 5 min read

The Last Emperor of China’s Patek Philippe Watch Is up for Sale: Aisin-Gioro Puyi Wore the Timepiece as a Captive of the Soviets in Siberia – and It May Fetch More Than Paul Newman’s Rolex at Auction

Direct Answer • Key Takeaway

A Patek Philippe Watch Owned by the Last Emperor of China’s Qing Dynasty, and Worn Through His Five Year's as a Captive of the Soviets in Siberia, Will Come to Auction Later This Year. Based on Similar Sales in the Past, It Could Very Easily Gavel for a Price in the Seven Figures.

Sarah Jenkins

Senior Technology Editor & AI Specialist

Sarah Jenkins is a veteran tech journalist with over 12 years of experience covering artificial intelligence, mobile innovations, and digital ethics. Her insights have appeared in leading technology publications worldwide.

Tags: last emperor chinas patek philippe watch sale aisin gioro puyi wore timepiece captive soviets