Eppli auctions the IWC pocket watch of Leonid Brezhnev, the former head of state of the Soviet Union

Eppli is ringing in April with an exclusive special auction for luxury and vintage watches: As part of the ‘IWC Only’ auction, more than 80 items from the renowned Swiss watch manufacturer will go under the hammer on 4 April 2025. The highlight for watch collectors and history enthusiasts will be a savonnette pocket watch owned by the former head of state of the Soviet Union, Leonid Brezhnev, which he received as a birthday present in 1972.

Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev (1906-1982) was party leader of the CPSU from 1964 to 1982 and head of state of the USSR from 1977 until his death. The son of a steelworker from the Ukraine, he not only had a penchant for fast cars and Ray-Ban sunglasses, but also for luxury Swiss watches. On state visits, he liked to show off a gold Rolex Datejust, and in his free time he often wore a model from the Russian brand ‘Raketa’, which was nicknamed ‘Brezhnev’.

A gift from Brezhnev's wife - with personalised engraving

Brezhnev's wife, Viktoriya Brezhneva, knew her husband's passion for luxurious timepieces and gave him a savonnette pocket watch from IWC Schaffhausen for his birthday in 1972. She had the following lines engraved by hand on the back of the case cover in Cyrillic script: ‘For dear Leonid Ilyich, on your birthday, 19 December 1972’ (translated). In the 1980s - after Brezhnev's death - the watch found a new owner: "The consignor's father had good contacts in Russian political circles, including Gorbachev. This is how he met Viktoriya Brezhneva, who sold him the pocket watch and other watches from her late husband's estate," explains Peter Dwornik, watch expert at Eppli.

Witness to history - a piece for collectors and enthusiasts

The hand-wound savonnette pocket watch (catalogue number 77) owned by Leonid Brezhnev is in good, original condition. The case is made of 18-carat yellow gold, the bridges of the movement are decorated with Côtes de Genève, while the movement plate has a cloud cut - the so-called perlage. The dial is in white lacquer, on which the Roman numerals and small seconds, paired with baton hands, stand out in black.

The starting price of the watch is 12,000 euros, including buyer's premium. ‘It's very difficult for us to estimate what price this historically highly interesting piece will ultimately sell for,’ says Peter Dwornik, adding: ‘With this auction, we hope to reach people who have the relevant collecting expertise and are interested in watches with history and the political events of the 1970s and 1980s.’

More than 80 exceptional IWC watches at auction

In addition to Brezhnev's pocket watch, the more than 80 items on offer at the ‘IWC Only’ special auction include numerous vintage wristwatches from the 1940s to 1970s, antique pocket watches and rare and exclusive models, such as a pilot's watch in platinum or a Da Vinci with a perpetual calendar designed by Kurt Klaus.

The special auction ‘IWC Only’ will take place on 4 April 2025, at 14:00, at the auction house Eppli am Markt.

On the Eppli website, you will receive an overview of all items to be auctioned with starting prices and further information approximately three weeks before the auction begins, and you can bid live worldwide: https://auktionen.eppli.com/

Ansprechpartner Presse