1:44 PM PT -- Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ that Arnold Schwarzenegger's prized Audemars Piguet watch found a buyer at the auction today -- and the price it went for is pretty staggering.

We're told the timepiece ended up going for 270,000 euros ... which translates to about $293k in greenbacks. Remember, this thing was valued at around $100,000 or so -- and you gotta wonder if Arnold's escapade with it in Germany boosted its value among bidders.

They raised a total of 1.3 million euros at the fundraiser -- which is a record for the org!! This is especially big because the fundraisers in Europe don't generally raise as much as they do in the U.S.

In any case, it's all going toward a great cause ... the cash goes toward Arnold's Schwarzenegger Climate Initiative. You're welcome, Mother Earth!!!

Arnold Schwarzenegger's customs detention was a serious matter that held him in Germany -- but now that he's where he needs to be ... the dude's cracking jokes, kinky ones too!

The Terminator finally made it to his big auction in Austria Thursday -- where he took the stage at the famed Stanglwirt Resort ... where he was hosting a bidding war on behalf of his Schwarzenegger Climate Initiative, with that pricey watch being one of the items.

Check out this video, obtained by TMZ, where AS is intro'd and comes out to address everyone in the room. The dude dives right into what happened to him at the Munich airport.

He was in a real fun mood -- 'cause Arnold basically did a couple minutes of stand-up comedy here ... joking about the fact he'd been handcuffed the day prior, but noting it had nothing to do with the customs thing. Instead, he pins it on a hot night with his GF. 😅

Yep, he's in full dad-joke mode here ... and the hits just kept coming. Arnold went on to say that the guys in customs were actually looking for a 2nd watch in their search of his stuff -- but they never found it, and he suggests it's because he put it where the sun don't shine.

Arnie got some laughs, for sure ... and he was working the room like a seasoned comic. BTW, we're told this event was packed -- upwards of 350 people were there, and he ended up talking for a total of 8 minutes, not entirely about the Germany incident of course.

Unclear if Arnold ended up selling off the Audemars Piguet watch in question -- which, BTW, had a starting bid of 50,000 euros! -- but at least he rattled off some good one-liners.

Gotta love Arnold, man ... dude knows how to tell a good story.