HLM – Chapter 120 The Legendary Watch

“You’re not even thirty yet, right?” Adams asked.

“Why? Does that affect the value of the antiques?” Wang Bo asked in surprise.

Adams laughed. “Of course not. I asked your age because I wanted to confirm whether you’re the youngest billionaire I know. Without a doubt—you are!”

Hearing this, Wang Bo finally felt relieved. Beaming, he said, “So, Mr. President, you mean these items of mine are worth more than a hundred million New Zealand dollars?”

“Possibly.”

Adams gave a conservative answer, then began introducing the antiques.

Since he assumed that, being the owner, Wang Bo must already know about the items, he didn’t bother with their background and went straight to estimating their prices.

To Wang Bo’s surprise, among the dozen or so antiques, the most valuable wasn’t the porcelain set or the gold-and-silver statues—but a finely crafted gold pocket watch.

“This legendary Patek Philippe pocket watch is estimated at around thirty million NZD—possibly even more, depending on how well we promote it. The Mughal Empire-era jewelry set comes next, worth around fifteen million…”

Listening to Adams’ introduction, Wang Bo was shocked. “This watch worth that much? Even more than the gold and silver statues?”

Adams said, “Perhaps you don’t know the story behind this watch?”

Wang Bo nodded. “Right. I always thought it was just a regular gold watch. Why is it worth so much?”

Adams carefully picked up the watch. “Look at the time displayed, and the other sub-dials.”

Wang Bo glanced at it. “It says 8:40 p.m., right? Seems accurate—matches the time on my phone too.”

Adams chuckled. “That’s exactly the problem! Wesker said that when you brought out the watch, it had stopped. He rewound it this morning, didn’t he?”

“Yes.”

“So it had been unused for an unknown period, and yet it’s still running fine—at least 12 hours now without any time deviation. Don’t you think that’s impressive?”

Wang Bo opened his mouth to speak, but Adams didn’t give him a chance and continued, “Do you know how old this watch is? 120 years—it was made two centuries ago!”

“But that’s not even its most valuable aspect. Its true worth lies in its legend. First, according to The Complete Book of Swiss Legendary Watchmaking, this is a one-of-a-kind piece—it’s a myth in the watchmaking world!”

Wang Bo understood this—any antique follows the rule of rarity equals value. This is especially true for antique timepieces as artistic treasures.

Among antiques, one-of-a-kind items are the most valuable. Even if there are two identical authentic pieces, one is often destroyed deliberately to create a unique “singleton,” maximizing its value.

“Secondly, functionality. This watch is unparalleled in history. Not only does it tell time, it also has a perpetual calendar, moon phase, and minute repeater functions. And see this largest sub-dial? What does it remind you of?” Adams asked with interest.

Inside the main dial were five sub-dials, the largest one in the center, with a blue background studded with tiny diamond-like dots. It was especially beautiful.

Wang Bo had examined it before. He guessed tentatively, “Looks like… a starry sky?”

“Exactly! It’s a star map of the night sky over Edinburgh, Scotland. It was the first time in Patek Philippe’s history that a star chart was added to a pocket watch. And to achieve this complicated function, the watch contains over 900 components. For that era’s craftsmanship, this was unimaginable!”

“Do you know how long Patek Philippe’s top watchmaker spent crafting it? Five years—an entire five years!” Adams sighed.

In modern watchmaking, hardly anyone would spend five years making a single pocket watch. From that angle alone, this legendary watch is irreplaceable.

And that wasn’t all. Adams continued, “The name of this watch is The Legendary Watch. Do you know why it’s called that?”

Wang Bo shook his head. Adams smiled. “Because since its creation, it has passed through the hands of three legendary individuals—the Duke of Edinburgh, an American steel tycoon, and a Qatari prince. Each one owned it for exactly four years—and died in the fourth year of ownership. It was later considered cursed by the Qatari royal family and reportedly destroyed after the prince’s death. No one expected it to have survived!”

Even Adams was tempted by now. Shaking his head, he muttered, “Damn it, why am I so poor? If I had the money, I’d definitely collect this watch—it’s a true legend in the collecting world!”

Charlie tugged Wang Bo’s sleeve and whispered, “I suggest you don’t sell it. Keep it for yourself.”

Wang Bo burst out laughing. “Collect it, my ass. I’m not some fancy collector. I’m just a simple guy—not into pretentious hobbies.”

Adams went on to introduce the rest of the antiques. The main reason the collection was worth over 100 million NZD was due to the value of the watch and the Mughal jewelry, which together accounted for around 45 million.

Next came two gold statues with a strong Native American style, each valued at over 10 million. In addition, two ivory pistols, a jade snuff bottle, a silver sculpture, and a wooden cane collectively added up to about 30 million.

Ironically, Wang Bo’s personal favorite—the porcelain dinnerware set—was the least valuable. The eight pieces combined were only valued around 2 million NZD.

Adams explained, “This porcelain is Japanese bone china. Based on early carbon-14 dating, it’s about a century and a half old. It bears the cherry blossom emblem of the Japanese royal family—most likely used exclusively by the royals at that time.”

After hearing this, Wang Bo was puzzled. “This porcelain is old and was used by royalty. Shouldn’t that make it more valuable?”

Adams smiled wryly. “Well, as you might know, countries have different attitudes toward historical antiques lost abroad. Most countries have patriotic collectors who repurchase them, and frankly, these collectors are the ones inflating the prices.”

Wang Bo nodded—he understood this rule.

Adams continued, “The Japanese are shrewd. Their government, businessmen, and financial groups never deliberately buy back national antiques. That’s why Japanese antiques are the cheapest. Honestly, Wang, if this set had belonged to your Qing Dynasty royal family, the price could jump fivefold—up to tens of millions. But since it belonged to the Japanese royal family, it’s basically worthless.”

Wang Bo was stunned. After a long pause, he finally squeezed out one sentence:

“F*ck. Damn those Japanese bastards!”