Jacqueline Kennedy’s iconic watch, painting to be auctioned
A wonderful painting by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and her Cartier watch, an iconic timepiece, are all set to be auctioned…
A Cartier wristwatch presented to former US First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy and a painting she created in 1963 was auctioned here on Thursday for a whopping USD 379,500, more than three times the estimated price.
Christie's auction house had set a pre-sale estimate between USD 60,000 and USD 120,000 for the two artifacts belonging to the golden era of the Kennedy Presidency.
The 18 carat gold square-shaped Cartier Tank watch was presented to Jacqueline by her brother-in-law, Prince 'Stas' Stanislaw Radziwill, in February 1963.
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The watch appears on the First Lady's wrist in many iconic photographs, Christie's said.
Engraved with the inscription 'Stas to Jackie, 23 Feb 1963 2.05am to 9.35am', it is a remarkable link not only to the lofty ideals of the 'Camelot' presidency, but also to then US President John F Kennedy's unique charisma.
The watch was accompanied by an original painting by Jacqueline titled 'The 50 Mile Hike' and signed JBK with text that reads: 'February 23, 1963, 2:05am to 9:35pm, Jackie to Stas with love and admiration'.
The picture was painted by Jacqueline to mark a 50-mile (80km) hike in Palm Beach in 1963 that Radziwill, Chuck Spalding – featured in Jackie's painting – and other friends of the Kennedys undertook to promote fitness.
A portion of the proceeds of the sale of the watch and painting will be donated to the US National Endowment for the Arts.
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