Sorry for your loss. You should probably speak with a lawyer to clarify the legal and tax situation.
Ethically, if you're worried about breaking your promise or the wife being upset about him having bought expensive watches, you could sell the watches (or chip in market value yourself, if you want to keep any) and then give the money to the estate. I imagine the wife would be happy enough to hear if, for example, your friend had made about $200k of additional provision for her in case he died. I don't know what the legal implications of this would be, though
Sorry for your loss. You should probably speak with a lawyer to clarify the legal and tax situation.
Ethically, if you're worried about breaking your promise or the wife being upset about him having bought expensive watches, you could sell the watches (or chip in market value yourself, if you want to keep any) and then give the money to the estate. I imagine the wife would be happy enough to hear if, for example, your friend had made about $200k of additional provision for her in case he died. I don't know what the legal implications of this would be, though