On Thursday, a Swiss court ruled that a rare Patek Philippe watch Yoko Ono gifted to John Lennon for his 40th birthday in 1980 — just two months before his assassination — rightfully belongs to her, not the Italian man who bought it years later.

One was the perennial appeal of The Beatles – and, more specifically, John Lennon. The second was the world of luxury watches, in particular a Patek Philippe that Lennon received shortly before his death in 1980.

A watch Yoko Ono bought for her late husband John Lennon as a birthday gift months before his assassination will be returned to her, a Swiss court has ruled.

The Patek Philippe was a 40th birthday gift to the former Beatle from his wife Ono before his assassination in 1980

A Patek Phillppe watch, given to John Lennon by his wife Yoko Ono, rightfully belongs to her, Switzerland’s highest court has ruled.

Most people are wise enough to know that the riches and fame of rock stars don’t always guarantee an absence of personal problems. Few artists, however, wrote as fearlessly about their issues and inner demons as John Lennon.

The Patek Philippe watch, with an estimated value of $4.51 million, was a 40th birthday gift to the former Beatle from Japanese artist Ono in 1980, just two months before his assassination in New York.

At long last, Yoko Ono has won a legal case establishing that a watch once owned by her murdered husband, John Lennon, belongs to her, rather than to a private collector.