Christie's Geneva to Sell Quincy Jones' Gold Jewelry and Patek Philippe Watch

What does a piece of gold actually carry? For most buyers, the answer starts with karat weight and spot price. But the 22K gold pendant that Bono of U2 gave Quincy Jones on his 80th birthday, engraved "for Quincy, 80th birthday" and set with colored diamonds, will arrive at Christie's Geneva on May 11 carrying something the melt value cannot measure: the record of a friendship, a milestone, and a recipient who spent six decades at the center of popular music history.

Christie's Rare Watches live auction at the Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues in Geneva will feature the property of the late Quincy Jones, with three pieces offered for the first time at auction. The headline lot is a Patek Philippe Nautilus Ref. 3700/1JA in steel and 18K gold, estimated at $130,000 to $250,000 (CHF 110,000 to CHF 210,000). Jones, who died in 2024, purchased the "Jumbo" Nautilus in 1981 and owned it for the rest of his life. That 43-year single-owner chain of custody is, in watch market terms, the gold standard of provenance. The watch was on Jones' wrist during the era he produced Michael Jackson's "Thriller," the best-selling album in history, which positions it as much an artifact of 20th-century recording culture as a timepiece. A Girard Perregaux watch presented by Andrea Bocelli in recognition of Jones' lifetime dedication to international charitable work rounds out the estate group. Proceeds from all three lots will benefit the Quincy Jones Foundation.

The estimate for the pendant necklace is CHF 10,000 to 15,000, approximately $13,000 to $19,000. Modest by auction standards, but its provenance story is just as precisely documented as the Nautilus: a named giver, a verifiable occasion, and an inscription that anchors the object in a specific moment. That combination is exactly what Christie's is leveraging across the entire Jones estate group, and it is why these lots are drawing attention from bidders well outside the traditional watch-collecting market.

22K gold, at 91.6 percent purity compared to 75 percent for 18K, is more malleable and richer in color, which is why it has long been the preference in South Asian and Middle Eastern fine jewelry traditions. If the Jones pendant appeals to you but a Christie's bidding room does not, that warmth and depth is accessible through contemporary makers working in traditional high-karat formats. The hallmark to look for is 916, typically stamped inside the clasp or on the bail. When buying estate 22K pieces at any price point, verify that hallmark first, ask for any documentation tying the piece to its original owner, and examine prong integrity and solder joints under magnification. Unlike 18K, 22K scratches more readily, so condition carries real weight in valuation.

For the Nautilus, the relevant questions are whether the bracelet retains its original end links and whether the case back carries the correct reference number. For the trade, single-owner status is a major value-add, and it is not hard to understand why: a continuous ownership record collapses the distance between the object and its story into one traceable line.

Jones understood that objects carry lives. The watch bought the year "Thriller" began to take shape. The pendant a friend chose to mark eight decades. On May 11, Christie's Geneva will find out exactly what those lives are worth to a room full of collectors.