Anderson, Ambrose & Taylor Professional Estate Buyers
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Rare And Collectible Watches
At Anderson, Ambrose, & Taylor, we are the experts at evaluating and buying pre-owned wristwatches and pocket watches of any brand. We give the highest value for watches such as
Heuer, Hamilton, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Longines, Rolex, Cartier, A. Lange & Söhne, Audemars Piguet, Longines, Patek Philippe, Omega
and so many more! If you are looking to sell your old watch, then give us a call today!
Michael, our watch expert at Anderson, Ambose & Taylor, was responsible for the acquisition, authentication and deliverance of this astonishing historical piece to the Eric Singer collection Eric Singer is a member of the famed musical group KISS.
1920s Patek Philippe Pocketwatch Presented To Opera Singer Tandy MacKenzie By Hawaiian Leper Colony
"Thank you Michael for helping me aquire the Tandy MacKenzie Pocket Watch! A historic piece with a profound story behind it...cherished watch for sure."--Eric Singer, KISS
Old timepieces simply don't get more interesting than this one. This is a 1920s open-faced pocketwatch from Patek Philippe that has quite a story behind it, and one that spoke to Eric very quickly. This watch belonged a well-known opera singer and actor from the early part of the 20th century named Tandy MacKenzie. MacKenzie was a highly regarded tenor who traveled the world with the most elite opera companies. It was MacKenzie who worked with the Marx Brothers on A Night At The Opera.
The gold case back is clearly engraved with MacKenzie's initials, but this watch becomes much more interesting when you open up the outer case back to reveal this:
This gold Patek was gifted to MacKenzie by the members of the Molokai leper colony on July 31st, 1922. Yes, seriously. According to MacKenzie's biography, where this watch is prominently shown just as it looks today, even retaining the same box, the people of this colony banded together to ask MacKenzie to perform for them. When he did, going against all social pressures of the day, they were so touched that they pooled their resources together and purchased him this gold Patek Philippe as a way to say thank you.
This is a fascinating watch, and one that Singer continues to research to this day. He knows the basics, but is curious where the watch was sold, how it was paid for, and exactly what the terms of MacKenzie's performance was for this Hawaiian leper colony. He has several supporting documents with this watch in addition to the original warranty and box, including MacKenzie's biography, copies of his obituary, and other stories written about him. This is the type of watch that makes collecting all worthwhile.