Haunted Watches: Five Timepieces with Dark Histories

The Patek Philippe Graves Supercomplication: A Curse of Greed?

The Henry Graves Jr. Supercomplication is one of horology's undisputed titans. Commissioned in 1925 by New York banker Henry Graves Jr., it was built to win an informal watchmaking duel against automotive magnate James Ward Packard. The goal was simple: create the most complicated watch on Earth.

Patek Philippe delivered the result in 1933. It was a mechanical universe in an 18-karat gold case, boasting 24 separate complications. For 56 years, it held the title of the world's most complicated portable timepiece, a record only broken by Patek itself with the Calibre 89 in 1989.

The Legend of the Curse

Auction-world folklore claims the watch carried a heavy price beyond its commission fee. Legend says that soon after taking possession of the masterpiece, Graves suffered a series of personal tragedies, including the deaths of close friends and family. The story goes that he came to see the watch as a harbinger of misfortune.

The tale gained another dark chapter decades later. Sheikh Saud bin Mohammed Al-Thani of Qatar purchased it at a 1999 Sotheby's auction for a record $11 million. He later fell into severe debt, and died unexpectedly at age 48—just two days before the watch was scheduled for a 2014 auction to pay his creditors.

At that sale, it hammered for an astonishing 23.2 million Swiss francs. While the "curse" narrative makes for a great story, it remains firmly in the realm of legend. The documented history is that of a pinnacle of human achievement.

Breguet No. 160 "Marie-Antoinette": The Ill-Fated Masterpiece

In 1783, an anonymous admirer of Queen Marie Antoinette commissioned Abraham-Louis Breguet to create the most spectacular watch possible. The budget was unlimited, and the timeline was open. The only rule was to incorporate every known complication and use precious metals wherever possible.

The project became an obsession that outlived both the Queen and Breguet himself. Marie Antoinette was executed in 1793, long before the watch was finished. Breguet died in 1823, and his workshop finally completed the piece, known as No. 160, in 1827—a staggering 44 years after it was ordered.

The Thief's Obsession

The Queen never saw her watch. For decades it was a prize of collectors until it landed in the L.A. Mayer Museum for Islamic Art in Jerusalem. In 1983, it was stolen in a brazen heist by master thief Na'aman Diller.

For over two decades, the watch vanished. Diller, a notorious Israeli cat burglar, hid the masterpiece along with dozens of other priceless clocks and watches in safes across Europe and the United States. Folklore suggests the watch consumed his life, casting a shadow of paranoia over him until his death in 2004.

He confessed to his wife on his deathbed, and she later attempted to sell the stolen items. The legendary Breguet No. 160 was recovered in 2007, its mystique only deepened by its decades in the criminal underworld.

Mary, Queen of Scots' "Death's Head" Watch

This timepiece is more artifact than watch, a chilling piece of *memento mori*. The object is a silver watch carved into the shape of a human skull. Engravings from the poet Horace and biblical quotes adorn its surface, reminding the owner that death is inevitable.

The tradition of *memento mori*—"remember you must die"—was common among the European elite in the 16th and 17th centuries. These objects were not meant to be morbid, but to encourage a life of virtue by keeping mortality front of mind. This one, however, is attached to a particularly grim royal end.

A Parting Gift at the Scaffold?

Legend holds that this skull watch belonged to Mary, Queen of Scots. The story claims she carried it with her to her execution at Fotheringhay Castle in 1587. Just before she was beheaded, she is said to have handed it to one of her ladies-in-waiting, Mary Seaton.