Sir Michael Hill and broadcaster Paul Henry’s $8000 watch trade that lasted years

Broadcaster Paul Henry has recalled the time he and jewellery pioneer Sir Michael Hill traded watches, and his audacious plan to try and get it back years later.

The founder of Michael Hill Jeweller, died on Tuesday aged 86.

Henry told Herald NOW’s Ryan Bridge the pair was on air together when Hill noted Henry was wearing a lovely watch, halfway though the interview.

“I said, ’Yes, it is’ - it was a very expensive watch - and so I naturally said, ‘And that’s a lovely watch you’re wearing too,’ and he said, ‘Let’s swap’.”

Hill took Henry’s “about $8,000 watch” and Henry got Hill’s “$450 watch”.

Hill had Henry’s watch for a number of years until he was made entrepreneur of the year and Henry was speaking on stage about him.

Henry decided that it was time to rectify the watch situation.

He showed the audience a picture of Hill’s boat he had before The Beast, then a picture of the small boat he had at the time and said: “Tonight, we’re going to swap boats, Michael”.

Paul Henry and Sir Michael Hill.

Henry also told Bridge, via a video call on board his yacht, Olive from Fiji, that Hill was a “lovely man”.

“For me he stood out because he was probably the smartest man in any room you were in, but he never seemed like the smartest man.

“He did something that most people don’t do, and that was really listen.

“I think that was his true golden touch, no matter who you were, he would study what you were saying and learn from it.”

Earlier this year Hill stepped down from his role on the board of Michael Hill International to undergo cancer treatment.

Hill died at his home in Arrowtown.

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