Made in 1910, the watch weighs 75g and is 49mm in length. The back of the watch case has an engraving of Ihwamun (이화문; 李花紋), the Imperial Seal of the Korean Empire; the name of the master watchmaker is also engraved inside the case. This suggests that Sunjong specially ordered this watch from Vacheron Constantin back in 1910. Because the watch is identical to the one that appears on the photo album of Sunjong's funeral, it is without doubt genuine.
Back in the late and the early 20th century, mechanical pocket watches and clocks were viewed by Koreans as one of the mesmerizing and exclusive modern marvels offered by the western civilization. It may be not so surprising, then, that Sunjong had great affection towards them.
According to historic records, Sunjong collected great number of timepieces and went on to creat his own private clock hall in Changdeokgung Palace. He was said to greatly enjoy the moment when all his clocks and (repeater) watches simultaneously sounded their hours with different sounds.
During the time when Korea was controlled and dominated by the Japanese, Sunjong, dismally the last monarch of the nation that longer existed, might have found bitter solace by letting his timepieces to measure the flow of history that was no longer under his control. He died in 1926, but the watch survived.
Sold at 125,000,000 won (112,750 USD), the watch is now at the hands of an unnamed private collector. I hope he does appreciate the sadness behind this special relic.
