There is an extremely intriguing IRS auction taking place in Florida tomorrow involving a huge watch connoisseur’s collection. Interesting enough, the collector is none other than ponzi scheme villain Scott Rothstein. Rothstein now faces 100 years in prison for his wrongful, selfish acts that cost people millions upon millions.
Although Rothstein was clearly an unethical, greedy man, he did sometimes showcase good taste in watches. The timepieces up for sale include models from Pierre Kunz, Panerai, Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, Gerald Genta, Daniel Roth, BRM, Franck Muller and more. While some of the watches are definitely out there, others are truly gorgeous and incredibly well-made.
Since I have preached that watches are very sentimental and carry a lot more value than just something that tells time, I have to wonder whether I would want a Scott Rothstein watch. How far would you go to get the watch of your dreams? If you believe in karma and are particular about the history of a timepiece, would you feel weird wearing your grail watch if it was originally owned by Rothstein?
If you look at the history of the hope diamond, some people thought it was so cursed that Harry Winston eventually just gave it away it to the Smithsonian. It was apparently stolen from an idol in India and sold to earn money for gambling debts. Some thought the stone would bring bad luck and death to anyone who even touched it!
It is one thing to purchase a watch where the history is unclear and unproven, but wearing a watch that has caused so much suffering to people could make you feel a little queasy. Rothstein’s last auction involving all of his high-end cars generated $5.8 million, so I will acknowledge that I may be looking a little too far into this. There is no doubt in my mind that all of his watches will bring a hefty penny, and I am looking forward to seeing the results. I do think, however, that the watches offered are at least somewhat dirty.
