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Auction: Bernard Madoff's possessions were sold off including 46 watches
Barely a year ago he was one of Wall Street's most powerful and wealthy figures. Then he was arrested and his massive financial empire was exposed as a fraud.
It is five months since Bernard Madoff was convicted of masterminding the world's biggest investment scam.
He was sentenced to 150 years for the Ponzi scheme, estimated to have run to £30billion, which brought him and his wife Ruth, right, a billionaire lifestyle.
Yesterday, it was payback time as Madoff's belongings were auctioned off in a fire sale in New York.
Clothes, jewellery, trinkets and household objects seized from his Manhattan penthouse, Hamptons beach house and Palm Beach estate went under the hammer, raising more than £600,000 -- about twice what had been expected.
Some lots went for considerably more than their estimates, including a wooden duck decoy. Expected to fetch just £50, it actually sold for an incredible £2,850.
A blue satin baseball jacket from the New York Mets emblazoned with the name Madoff fetched £8,700 in another of the sale's most frenzied bidding battles. It had been expected to fetch just £430.
The goods sold off offered a fascinating insight into Madoff's world. The tycoon had a huge passion for watches, 46 of which were sold yesterday - and all but one of which are pictured here with their estimated price and what they actually fetched.
Rolex was a favoured brand, ironic given that Madoff was said to have lost the Swiss company £600,000.
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Sold: A New York Mets baseball jacket, embroidered with Madoff's name, fetched £8,700 (Est: £430)
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Under the hammer: A Madoff-branded umbrella made £1,200 (£30, with other items
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Quacker: A duck decoy, slightly scuffed, fetched £2,850 (£50)
A flurry of interest meant some of the more 'affordable' watches went for more than three times the best estimate - though the top-end models proved a more difficult sell.
According to renowned watch expert Ken Kessler, who has provided his verdict on each of the items: 'Bernie's selection is nothing if not eclectic with some true masterpieces.'
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1945 Vintage Rolex OP Monoblocco. £39,000 (Est: £53,500). Verdict: 'The coveted 'Prisoner's Watch' was originally sold by Rolex direct to Allied prisoners in German PoW camps. Sublime'
18-carat rose gold Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Duo. £5,400 (Est: £8,500). Verdict: 'A true classic. You can flip over the case to protect the glass. Designed in 1931 for British troops playing polo in India'
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IWC Portuguese, silver dial with rose gold markers. £3,900 (Est: £2,250). Verdict: 'One of the watches that created, in the early Nineties, a trend for larger timepieces. A hugely popular chronograph'
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1955 Rolex 'shock resisting' vintage watch. £3,000 (Est: £450). Verdict: 'Wonderful Rolex with small seconds dial and fancy, unusual lugs, ideal for fans of TV's Mad Men who wish to dress the part'
Gent's Rolex OP Explorer. £3,000 (Est: £1,200). Verdict: 'Launched in 1953 and named in honour of Sir Edmund Hillary, this is the definitive no-nonsense wristwatch for real men. Simple and highly desirable'
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1930 vintage Rolex with green hand-engraved top sides. £2,400 (Est: £450). Verdict: 'Nice, rectangular Rolex from the early Thirties. Ornate case - perfect for evening wear. Likely to be too fragile for daily use'
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Variety of plastic Swatch watches and wristbands. £510 (Est: £90). Verdict: 'A bunch of Swatches...does anyone still collect these? But it's a solid product - if you've only got £25, buy a Swatch'
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Gent's Audemars Piguet Huitieme. £9,000 (Est £4,800). Verdict: 'Audemars Piguet is one of the greatest houses. This is a solid gold chronograph with date, suitable for all occasions'
Early 1960s Rolex OP Submariner. £6,300 (Est: £1,800). Verdict: 'Madoff bought something wholly functional here. It's classic and is in magnificent original condition'
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c1921 Rolex. £2,400 (Est: £540). Verdict: 'With silver case and lovely porcelain dial, small enough for the ladies of the day, yet large enough for modern women. Intensely fashionable now'
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1934 gent's Rolex with alligator strap. £2,850 (Est: £540). Verdict: 'A handsome, mid-Thirties rectangular dress Rolex. It has a broken crystal, but a good repairer will be able to sort it'
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Stainless steel Bulgari watch. £1,500 (Est: £960). Verdict: 'A mid-sized, steel version of a modern classic, credited with popularising wide bezels. With quartz-driven mechanism'
1935 Rolex Oyster, with gold dial. Not sold (Est: £35,000). Verdict: 'One of the finest of Bernie's vintage Rolexes, so stunning that even the hardcore collectors might forgive the restoration'
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1966 Rolex OP, 18-carat gold. £4,800 (Est: £2,700). Verdict: 'Fine, dressy gold Rolex on a strap with classic white dial. This is as perfect an accessory for business or evening wear as a pair of Cleverley shoes'
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Hublot Classic, stainless steel. £2,400 (Est: £1,000). Verdict: 'A prosaic quartz-movement Hublot chronograph which gives no indication that this brand would eventually release the radical Big Bang model'
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Audemars Piguet Millenary. £2,400 (Est: £2,300). Verdict: 'A recent Audemars Piguet Millenary model with a slightly oval case. It also comes with spare strap - Bernie knew he'd need to change identities'
1946 vintage 'Bubble Back' Rolex with rose gold dial. £6,300 (Est: £3,300). Verdict: 'Probably the most gorgeous of all Art Deco period watches. Case has rounded, rather than flat, back. Understated class'
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Franck Muller Casablanca with alligator strap with luminous Arabic numbers. £2,700 (Est: £2,300). Verdict: 'A lady's Franck Muller, a sporty stainless steel model with militaristic black dia'
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Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Geographic. £7,500 (Est: £2,700). Verdict: 'One of the most competent traveller's watches ever, shows multiple time zones, with city names shown at 6 o'clock'
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1995 Rolex Explorer II with numbered bezel. £4,800 (Est: £2,200). Verdict: 'A butch masterpiece for the inveterate traveller, the Explorer II boasts a second hand with large arrow and a 24-hour dial'
Lady's steel Poiray brand Ma Premiere watch. £540 (Est: £420) for two. Verdict: 'Mundane quartz watches. Was Bernie on an off-day, or was he just trying to embarrass Mrs M?'
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1936 vintage Rolex. £15,000 (Est: £15,900). Verdict: 'A handsome watch, its 1.4in case makes it truly wearable, as most watches of the era are too small. Again restored, but looks professional. Desirable'
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18-carat white gold Patek Philippe Annular Calendar. £12, 600 (Est: £9,300). Verdict: 'A high-flying businessman would appreciate this. Shows time, date, month and day. Elegant, despite a busy dial'
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Gent's Cartier Cougar £2,100 (Est: £600). Verdict: 'The Cartier Cougar here presaged the nickname for older women with a taste for younger men. This is the watch they might give their young paramours'
Blancpain Leman flyback. £3,900 (Est: £3,100). Verdict: 'For true connoisseurs, a recent model suitable for both casual and dressy wear. The company boasts that since 1735, it has never made a quartz watch'
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1942 vintage Rolex 18-carat gold Antimagnetique. Professionally restored. £13,500 (Est: £15,250). Verdict: 'Beautiful gold Rolex, desirable despite being restored. This is a very elegant piece'
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Blancpain Leman flyback. £3,900 (Est: £3,100). Verdict: 'For true connoisseurs, a recent model suitable for both casual and dressy wear. The company boasts that since 1735, it has never made a quartz watch'
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Forties Rolex OP Datejust with Cartier black alligator strap. £3,600 (Est: £1,800). Verdict: 'A honey of a Rolex in steel with gold bezel. Has a Art Deco feel. Timeless - as handsome now as it was more than 60 years ago'
Gent's stainless steel Cartier Tank Basculante with navy blue alligator strap. £2,900 (Est: £1,300). Verdict: 'Bernie showed real taste with this lesser-known of Cartier's finer works. This is as elegant as it gets'
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Lady's 18-carat yellow gold Bueche Girod tank with brown crocodile strap. £900 (Est: £200). Verdict: 'A true bargain for a female bidder as the manufacturer is known only to the cognoscenti'
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IWC Mark XV gent's stainless steel watch. £2,400 (Est: £1,600). Verdict: 'This is a favourite of Hollywood when producers need to portray action men with taste rather than a surfeit of hormones'
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Gent's 950 Patek Philippe. £6,600 (Est: £4,000). Verdict: 'Truly magnificent, the definition of a classic: Highly covetable in platinum, with a small seconds dial. Virtually unchanged since 1932'
1940 Rolex Oyster. Rose gold bezel, yellow gold crown, professionally restored. £19,500 (Est: £38,000). Verdict: 'Eye-wateringly rare; if it hadn't been restored, this would have caused riots among bidders'
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Large 18-carat gold Cartier Tank Americaine. Est: £3,350. Verdict: 'Again with the quartz! Was Bernie too lazy to wind a watch? That aside, the slim and elongated Americaine is, for many, the most attractive of the Cartier Tanks'
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Gentleman's stainless steel Jaeger LeCoultre. £960 (Est: £450). Verdict: 'Bernie should shoot his advisers: Jaeger LeCoultre makes the world's finest mechanical watches, so why did he opt for quartz?'
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Piaget Gouverneur Automatique with synthetic sapphire dial. £6,000 (Est: £3,500). Verdict: 'Piaget's clever twist on a dressy man's watch with a wonderful sky-blue dial'
Ulysse Nardin San Marco GMT. £3,600 (Est: £1,200). Verdict: 'Makes time-zone changing simple. A button changes the hour without affecting the minute hand; a small window shows the time in a second zone'
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Audemars Piguet with silver dial and brown alligator strap. £6,600 (Est: £4,000). Verdict: 'Understated, elegant and functional, an Audemars Piguet chronograph with two sub-dials, for seconds and timekeeping'
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18-carat gold Cartier Tank Francaise. £5,400 (Est: £3,300). Verdict: 'Although quartz rather than mechanical, there's much to admire here. A classic Tank, the slightly curved sides to the case add a touch of individualism'
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Large Hublot Classic. £1,140 (Est: £900). Verdict: 'Bernie liked his Hublots, and this one is hard to fault. Large, made of steel, with automatic movement and black rubber strap - the Hublot signature that everyone now copies'
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