Joe DiMaggio’s Watch, Abbe Lane’s Jewels Head to Market

By JCK News Desk | October 29, 2026

A trio of forthcoming sales is putting notable watches and celebrity-owned jewelry on the market, including a Patek Philippe once owned by baseball legend Joe DiMaggio and jewelry from the estate of entertainer Abbe Lane.

The DiMaggio watch, offered by Wind Vintage, is a circa 1947 Patek Philippe Ref. 130 chronograph in yellow gold, which the New York Yankees star purchased on Dec. 12, 1948. DiMaggio, who spent his entire 13-year Major League Baseball career with the Yankees, kept the watch until his death in 1999.

Dealer Eric Wind told Robb Report that the watch’s provenance, condition, and rarity account for its $1.2 million asking price. Wind estimates that about 180 yellow gold Ref. 130s with Breguet numerals were produced, with approximately 55 having come to market.

The 33 mm watch also features a tachymeter scale and Patek’s caliber 13-130. Robb Report said the piece resurfaced publicly at Patek Philippe’s 2017 “The Art of Watches” exhibition in New York and was sold later that year to its current owner.

*Patek Philippe Calatrava Rare Handcrafts, Ref. 5088_100P-001 (courtesy of Heritage Auctions)*

Meanwhile, Heritage will hold its Watches & Fine Timepieces Signature Auction on Nov. 20, led by a Patek Philippe Calatrava Rare Handcrafts Ref. 5088/100P-001 with a platinum case and elaborately engraved 18k white gold dial.

The Heritage sale will also feature a rare-form Cartier Bamboo Coussin Ref. 78102, a Patek Philippe Ref. 3417 “Amagnetic,” a De Bethune DB28XP U.S. limited edition, and a circa 1985 18k gold Rolex Cosmograph Daytona Ref. 6263 offered with its original accessories and documentation.

On Dec. 9, John Moran Auctioneers will offer the first portion of Lane’s estate in Los Angeles. The sale will include jewelry by Harry Winston, David Webb, Cartier, and Oscar Heyman, along with watches from Audemars Piguet, Baume & Mercier, and Franck Muller. Designer accessories and gowns from Lane’s life and career also will be included.

Lane, who died April 25 at age 94, began performing on Broadway as a teenager before joining Xavier Cugat’s orchestra in the late 1940s. She went on to work in Italian film and television, appear in Hollywood movies and on American television, and record for RCA Victor and Mercury.

Among the pieces from Lane’s estate is an 18k two-tone gold purse with a woven motif, diamond-set edge and clasp, and an estimated 13.3 cts. t.w. diamonds; accompanied by a personal mirror, it carries a $40,000–$60,000 estimate. The sale also includes an 18k gold Van Cleef & Arpels “Hawaii” brooch depicting a cascading floral bouquet set with round rubies and sapphires and accented with old mine–cut diamonds, estimated at $12,000–$18,000.

The JCK News Desk uses AI to help research and produce the first draft of articles. This story was then reviewed by staff writer David Blomquist.

(Top photo: Joe DiMaggio in 1941, from Wikipedia)