Chinese Jade Clock in glass case. Executor’s client acquired it in China in 1972 when Nixon was in China and carried it back all the way back to the states on his lap. Several similar clocks were available in the early 1980s in Hong Kong for 300,000 to 400,000 HK dollars. One jade piece is cracked but it does not show when displayed. Background: antique Jade Chinese Clock. Executor’s client acquired it in 1972 in the Tianjin outside of Peking (Beijing). It was at the time of Nixon’s visit and he had obtained a visa because the Chinese man who issued it had seen a map of the world and thought Alaska was a separate country. he was driven on a narrow cobblestone road in an industrial area when we passed a door that was open and he could see the room behind the door was stuffed to the rafters with piles of clocks, jade carvings, etc. “I stopped the van and walked back. There were three little old men with Mao jackets inspecting piles (yes, piles) of antiques that had been confiscated from their owners. They were not for sale. But somehow a few green dollars changed hands and I got my pick. This clock was the only one inside its own glass case and looked like the best piece. I walked out carrying the clock and its glass case. No one questioned me when I carried it on my lap all the way from Peking to Hong Kong to Bangkok to Los Angeles. In Hong Kong in the 1980s I saw similar clocks being sold for 300,000 to 400,000 HK dollars.” Located on the fireplace mantel in the sitting room. Guide Price. $80,000. / New $50,000 . Note that it has a barely visible crack in the jade top piece

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