This gold Longines time-only watch is not just any watch: it is, quite simply, the personal watch of Pope Paul VI.
This is a truly museum-quality piece. In the early 1960s, Longines created this unique timepiece, specially designed for the Pope, adorned with his coat of arms, and officially presented it to him. This commission is meticulously documented: it is listed in Longines reference books as well as in several contemporary press articles attesting to the creation and presentation of this exceptional timepiece.
The watch is accompanied by a remarkable collection of documents, including an official letter from Pope Paul VI thanking Longines, as well as photographs of the official presentation. The Pope wore this watch for many years.
Later, Paul VI gifted it to his close friend, the French philosopher, writer, and poet Jean Guitton. Here again, the transmission is perfectly documented. Towards the end of his life, in the 1990s, Jean Guitton gifted the watch to his secretary, who then sold it a few years later.
We therefore have here an exceptional, continuous, documented, and impeccable provenance, tracing the watch's entire journey from the Vatican to the present day. This is precisely what allows such a sensitive piece—the personal watch of a pope—to be offered legally and transparently on the market.
To own this watch is to possess far more than a timepiece: it is to become part of history. You would undoubtedly be one of the very few collectors in the world who could say that you own the Pope's own watch—a unique, legendary piece, imbued with an absolutely extraordinary historical, spiritual, and cultural significance.
La montre est accompagnée d'une remarquable collection de documents, dont une lettre officielle du pape Paul VI remerciant Longines, ainsi que des photographies de la présentation officielle. Le pape a porté cette montre pendant de nombreuses années.
Plus tard, Paul VI l'a offerte à son ami proche, le philosophe, écrivain et poète français Jean Guitton. Là encore, la transmission est parfaitement documentée. Vers la fin de sa vie, dans les années 1990, Jean Guitton a offert la montre à son secrétaire, qui l'a ensuite vendue quelques années plus tard.
Nous avons donc ici une provenance exceptionnelle, continue, documentée et irréprochable, retraçant l'intégralité du parcours de la montre, du Vatican à nos jours. C'est précisément ce qui permet à une pièce aussi précieuse – la montre personnelle d'un pape – d'être proposée sur le marché en toute légalité et transparence.
Posséder cette montre, c'est posséder bien plus qu'un simple garde-temps : c'est entrer dans l'histoire. Vous seriez sans aucun doute l'un des très rares collectionneurs au monde à pouvoir affirmer posséder la montre personnelle du Pape – une pièce unique et légendaire, imprégnée d'une signification historique, spirituelle et culturelle absolument extraordinaire.
