Harry Houdini’s secret-message pocket watch sells for $204,000 at auction

Harry Houdini was famous for escaping locked boxes, handcuffs and seemingly impossible restraints, but one of the most personal objects connected to him carried a secret hidden in plain sight. In 1910, his wife Beatrice, known as Bess, gave him a gold-filled pocket watch engraved with what appeared to be a simple birthday message. More than a century later, Potter & Potter Auctions sold the watch for $204,000, far above its $20,000 to $40,000 estimate, as per their website.

The reason for the extraordinary price is the inscription inside the case. At first glance, it reads like an affectionate note from Bess to her husband. But the first letters of the central words spell “EHRICH,” the birth name Houdini was born with as Erik Weisz.

That small act of concealment, combined with the watch’s direct link to Houdini and Bess, helped turn a 19th-century timepiece into one of the most sought-after Houdini artefacts ever offered at auction.