Cartier tank watch owned by Jacqueline Kennedy going up for auction
Now is your chance to own a timepiece worn by the former first lady.
— -- The watch once owned by former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy — and worn by the fashion icon in many prominent photos — is being auctioned in New York today.
The Cartier tank watch was given to Kennedy by her brother-in-law Prince Stanislaw "Stas" Radziwill and is engraved with "Stas to Jackie 23 Feb. 63 2:05 am to 9:35 pm."
The times in the engraving were Radziwell's start and finish times for the 1963 50 Mile Hike in Palm Beach, Florida, according to Christie's, the auction house overseeing the sale. The 50 Mile Hike was a challenge that President John F. Kennedy briefly promoted to encourage building mental and physical toughness.
A 1963 painting by Jacqueline Kennedy will accompany the sale of her watch, according to Christie's. At the bottom of the painting, she wrote, "February 23, 1963 2:05 am to 9:35 pm Jackie to Stas with love and admiration."
"The Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Cartier tank is a watch full of emotion, love and history," John Reardon, the international head of Christie's watch department said in a statement. "Together with Jackie's painting, these two objects capture the spirit of another era, a time where friendship and the can-do optimism of the generation seemed to make anything possible."
He added that the consignor of the watch has "offered to donate a portion of the proceeds to the National Endowment for the Arts."
Christie's estimates that the watch and painting will bring in $60,000 to $120,000 at auction.