Swiss court rules on ownership of watch Yoko Ono gifted to John Lennon before his death

A court in Switzerland has ruled that a watch Yoko Ono gave John Lennon shortly before his 1980 death does in fact belong to Ono, and not a watch collector who claimed he legitimately purchased the item.

According to Bloomberg, the Patek Philippe watch in question was stolen by Ono’s chauffeur, and the collector purchased it in Germany in 2014. The collector argued the watch was his because of the purchase, but the Swiss Federal Court just ruled the sale wasn’t legitimate because the chauffeur wasn’t the watch’s actual owner. 

According to the ruling, “[T]here was no evidence to show that Yoko Ono intended to donate to the driver something as special as the watch, engraved with an inscription, that she had given to John Lennon two months before his death.”

Rolling Stone reports the watch included the inscription “(Just Like)/Starting Over/Love Yoko/ 10·9·1980/N.Y.C.,” a reference to the song “(Just Like) Starting Over,” from Lennon’s album Double Fantasy, which he was released just a month before his death.

Ono has been battling the collector over the watch for quite some time. According to lawyers, the watch could be worth $4.5 million, but the fact that it was owned by Lennon means it could be worth even more.

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