A watch which once belonged to legendary martial artist Bruce Lee got auctioned off at a price that is much higher than expected.
At a recent auction held in Hong Kong, a watch once owned by Bruce Lee has been sold for HK$225,000 ($28,700) - a 50 percent premium to the top range of its asking price. It was sold to an unidentified buyer as item 860 of 82 lots during the Phillips & Blackbird: Sports auction on Monday night at the JW Marriott Hotel.
The timepiece (pictured below) had been expected to fetch between HK$80,000 to HK$150,000 but was sold for a much higher price to an unidentified buyer, according to phillips.com.
Source: SJX website, Phillips
Historically Interesting
Pieces of Bruce Lee memorabilia are usually hot items and the Universal Genève Polerouter timepiece (circa the 1950s) was described as a «very rare and historically interesting yellow gold-plated stainless steel wristwatch with sweep center seconds».
The watch came with a letter of provenance from its previous owner, Herb Jackson, who was Lee’s martial arts student, friend, and confidant in the United States. Lee had given Jackson the timepiece as a gift and the watch was handed down to Jackson’s son, Mark Ashton-Jackson before it was sold on Monday.
Friendship With Jackson Herb
According to the letter of authenticity, Ashton-Jackson stated the item was owned and used by Bruce Lee, who gave the timepiece to his father as a gift around 1968. Lee was good friends with Herb Jackson, who was into training equipment such as boxing gloves for Lee and other equipment to help Lee hone his powerful physique.
Lee had always worn his watches with a cuff-style leather strap and the item was considered a collectible that many Bruce Lee fans had been eyeing.
