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The 1909 Five Minute Repeater by Patek Philippe made for
Tiffany & Co was a gift from Patton’s parents for his graduation
from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
The watch had originally been priced at $600 but Patton’s
parents purchased it for $350 because “it was thicker than the
usual style,” Patton wrote in a memoir in 1927.
The watch was sold to an anonymous buyer, according to officials
with Dallas-based Heritage Auctions.
The watch remained for eight decades in the family of the late
general, who commanded the Seventh U.S. Army in the
Mediterranean and Europe during World War Two.
Patton also commanded the Third U.S. Army in France and Germany
following the Allied invasion of Normandy.
After Patton’s death in 1945, the watch was handed down through
several generations.
"My wish for the watch has always been that it be cherished as a
beautiful timepiece and as an interesting historical memento,"
said Patton's grandson Robert Patton, who put the watch up for
auction.
The watch is inscribed “Lieut. George S. Patton USA, from his
Father and Mother, June 11, 1909."
"General Patton’s relationship with his parents, and especially
his father, George S. Patton II, was very close,” Jim Wolf,
director of fine timepieces for Heritage, said in a statement.
Historians have documented through Patton's writings that he
carried the watch with him while fighting against Pancho Villa
in 1916 and in combat with the U.S. Army Tank Corps during World
War One, Wolf said.
"I carried it in Mexico and France," Patton wrote. "It keeps
perfect time and is a great watch. Aunt Nannie bought me a chain
to go with it.”
Patton did not carry the watch into battle during World War Two.
Instead, he stored it in the Boston-area home that he and his
wife purchased in 1928, the auction house said.
(Editing by Jon Herskovitz and Peter Cooney)
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