A rare watch given to John Lennon by his wife Yoko Ono that was stolen after his death does not belong to an Italian man who bought it from an auction house years later, a Swiss court ruled Thursday, leading to The way for its return was paved. Ono.
The Patek Philippe watch, estimated to be worth $4.51 million, was a 40th birthday gift to the former Beatle from Japanese artist Ono, just two months before his murder in New York in 1980.
The court statement said that on the back of the clock’s 18-karat gold face is inscribed “(As) Love Yoko Starting 10·9·1980 NYC”, a line from a song they composed together. Is.
The appeal decision shared with journalists by the Federal Tribunal on Thursday confirms two earlier rulings handed down by Geneva courts in 2022 and 2023.
It concludes a years-long legal battle between Yoko Ono and an Italian man living in China, who claimed ownership of the watch and was the plaintiff in the case.
Like the names of all parties involved, their names are given in coded form in Swiss legal documents, only making it possible to determine certain identities.
It was not possible for Reuters to contact his lawyer because his identity has also been censored.
Court documents show the watch changed hands and countries several times after Ono was taken by a Turkish driver in 2006.
He claimed that he had Ono’s consent to take the watch.
Once in Turkey, the watch changed hands again in 2010 before being sold to a German auction house, which sold it to an Italian citizen living in China.
Ono learned that the watch had been stolen in 2014, when a Geneva-based company, which had been appointed by the Italian to appraise its value, informed his lawyer.
Swiss court documents show the watch is currently being held for safekeeping in Geneva by the appellant’s lawyer, and it was not immediately clear when or if it would be returned.
