The Story Of John Lennon's Patek Philippe 2499 With Jay Fielden

Our guest today is editor and writer Jay Fielden. Jay is a media industry vet, having spent time at The New Yorker, Vogue, and Men's Vogue, before becoming editor-in-chief of Town & Country. From there, he took the same position at Esquire from 2016 to 2019. He's also contributed to Hodinkee a few times over the years.

We invited Jay on to talk more about his recent excellent piece, "The Strange Journey of John Lennon's Stolen Patek Philippe Watch," which appeared in the June 24 issue of The New Yorker.

It's the most detailed account yet of the "Lennon 2499" that has remained mostly a mystery for decades. He traces the story, talks to the people, and even found some never-before-published photos of the Patek given by Yoko Ono to Lennon for his 40th birthday, just months before he was murdered.

Also joining the conversation is our own Ben Clymer. Thanks for listening, and enjoy this week's conversation with Jay Fielden.

Show Notes

Since the main topic of this week's episode is Fielden's article in The New Yorker, it's short on show notes. Instead, below are links for further reading on the long, winding story of John Lennon's Patek 2499:

The Strange Journey of John Lennon's Stolen Patek Philippe Watch, Fielden's story in The New Yorker

In-Depth: Twelve of the Greatest Missing Watches, Hodinkee

John Lennon's Stolen Watch Found in Geneva, Gotham City, the first publication to break the news that Lennon's 2499 had been the subject of an ongoing lawsuit in Geneva

In-Depth: The Wild, Mostly Complete Story of John Lennon's Lost Patek Philippe 2499, Hodinkee, our coverage of the lawsuit where we fill in the blanks as to where Lennon's 2499 had traveled over the past two decades

The full Geneva court decision between Yoko Ono and "Mr. A.", Canton of Geneva

The Saga of Yoko Ono, Her Chauffer, and Lost Lennon Treasures, N.Y. Times, covering the 86 other items of Lennon's that Karsan had stolen and which were recovered in the 2017 bankruptcy of Auctionata