THE JOURNAL
Mr Steve McQueen wearing a 1969 Heuer Monaco during the shooting of his film Le Mans, June 1970. Photograph by Mr Bernard Cahier/Getty Images
When it comes to collectable watches, celebrity provenance can send prices out of control, as demonstrated by the 12 December sale of Mr Steve McQueen’s Le Mans-worn Heuer Monaco, which set a new all-time record price for any vintage Heuer of $2.2m. It joins the Rolex Cosmograph Daytonas of Mr Paul Newman and Mr Sylvester Stallone’s Panerai in demonstrating the power of a Hollywood connection. But in recent years, watches that once belonged to emperors, generals, music idols and sporting superstars have also crossed the block for big money. Here, the auction house specialists who dealt with them tell us why they were so sought after.
01.
1991 Panerai Reference 5218-201/A, formerly owned by Mr Sylvester Stallone
Mr Sylvester Stallone in Daylight (1996). Photograph by Universal Pictures/Alamy. Watch photograph courtesy of Phillips
**“**This is the actual watch that both defined the modern Panerai brand and helped to establish a trend for larger-sized timepieces. When it was worn by Mr Sylvester Stallone in the 1996 movie Daylight, it was seen by millions and would have seemed so different from anything that had gone before. It was what put Panerai on the map. Many collectors have grown up watching Mr Stallone, so the appeal of owning a watch that belonged to him is obvious.”
Mr Paul Boutros, head of Phillips US watch division
02.
1969 Heuer Monaco Reference 1133, formerly owned by Mr Steve McQueen
Mr Steve McQueen in Le Mans (1971). Photograph by mptvimages/eyevine. Watch photograph courtesy of Phillips
“This was one of the six Monaco watches used in the making of the movie Le Mans, starring Steve McQueen, having been chosen by him for its authenticity as a racing driver’s watch. To find a watch that was worn by Mr McQueen, one of only two that he kept and that was consigned direct from the person to whom he gave it – his mechanic, Haig Alltounian – is about as good as it gets.”
Mr Paul Boutros, head of Phillips US watch division
03.
1948 Patek Philippe Reference 130, formerly owned by Mr Joe DiMaggio
Mr Joe DiMaggio recording The Joe DiMaggio Show in New York, c.1950. Photograph by Hulton Archive/Getty Images. Watch photograph © Christie’s Images Limited 2017
“The Reference 130 is a landmark model for collectors anyway, but it is the story behind it that made this watch especially interesting. It originally belonged to Joe DiMaggio, baseball hero and one-time husband of Marilyn Monroe. He was given the watch by the owners of the New York Yankees, the team he played for from 1936 until he retired in 1951. It was clearly cherished by him and is even believed to have retained its original leather strap.”
Ms Rebecca Ross, senior specialist, Christie’s, New York
04.
1954 Patek Philippe Reference 2497, formerly owned by Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia
Emperor Haile Sellassie Of Ethiopia, 1975. Photograph by Hulton-Deutsch Collection/Corbis via Getty Images. Watch photograph © Christie’s Images Limited 2017
“Even without its history, this watch was probably unique, as the only Reference 2497 known to have a matte black, military-style dial with special luminous numerals and Alpha hands. But what made the watch even more special was the fact that it was commissioned by an Italian aviator for Emperor Haile Selassie. Patek Philippe’s archive includes a note explaining that the engraving of the emperor’s initials on the case back was created from a drawing supplied when the watch was ordered.”
Mr Patrick Hofstetter, senior researcher and cataloguer, Christie’s, Geneva
05.
1968 Rolex Cosmograph Daytona Reference 6239, formerly owned by Mr Paul Newman
Mr Paul Newman at a fundraiser at Madison Square Garden, New York , June 1972. Photograph by Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images. Watch photograph courtesy of Phillips
“Presented to Newman by his wife, Joanne Woodward, and engraved with the words ‘Drive Carefully Me’, it showed the love and care she had for her husband. It was the star’s first Daytona and the one that led to a whole genre of watches with similar dials being known as Paul Newmans. That incredible impact on the collecting field had a lot to do with it becoming the most expensive wrist watch ever sold.”
Mr Paul Boutros, head of Phillips US watch division
06.
1972 Rolex GMT-Master Reference 1675, formerly owned by Mr Marlon Brando
Mr Marlon Brando in Apocalypse Now (1979). Photograph by Zoetrope/Entertainment Pictures via ZUMA Press. Watch photograph courtesy of Phillips
“Long thought missing, this was the Rolex worn by Mr Brando when he played Colonel Walter E Kurtz in Francis Ford Coppola’s classic movie Apocalypse Now. It was consigned by Mr Brando’s daughter, without the bezel – just as it had been seen on film – and with a case back signed by the man himself. Not only was the provenance incredible, but the watch was completely original, never having been polished or repaired. We could have added a bezel to make it complete, but I think that would have taken away much of the appeal.”
Mr Paul Boutros, head of Phillips US watch division
07.
1960 Omega, formerly owned by Mr Elvis Presley
Mr Elvis Presley arrives in Miami, Florida, 1965. Photograph by NBCUniversal via Getty Images. Watch photograph courtesy of Phillips
“Elvis received this watch as a thank you from his record company, RCA, for selling 75 million discs. It was offered to several auction houses before coming to us, but I think the others simply saw it as a small and rather insignificant diamond-studded Omega rather than a watch that had belonged to one of the most famous individuals of the 20th century, despite the wonderful engraving on the back that reads, ‘To Elvis, 75 million records. RCA Victor. 12-25-60’. Remarkably, the consignor’s uncle acquired it after Elvis walked into a bar in Las Vegas and asked if he could trade it for the man’s gem-set Hamilton.”
Mr Paul Boutros, head of Phillips US watch division.
08.
1935 Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso, formerly owned by General Douglas MacArthur
Mr Douglas MacArthur in Ann Arbor, Michigan,1952. Photograph by Mr Joseph Scherschel/The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty Images. Watch photograph courtesy of Antiquorum
“We were holding a valuation day in Brussels when some people showed up saying they were direct descendants of General Douglas MacArthur and asked if his 1935 Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso was worth anything. With any watch purported to have been owned by a famous person, provenance is key. This one had both an indisputable history and General MacArthur’s initials, D Mac A, clearly enamelled on the case back. It had remained in his family for 80 years and was bought by the Jaeger-LeCoultre museum, where it is now on display.”
_Mr Julien Schaerer, director, Antiquorum Swiss, Geneva _
09.
1946 LeMania chronograph, formerly owned by Sir Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Churchill and family leaving for Switzerland in 1946. Photograph by Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images. Watch photograph courtesy of Sotheby’s
“The strange thing about this watch was that it was both wonderfully ordinary and incredibly special. It was given to Churchill in 1946 by the government of Vaud while he was on a three-week trip to Switzerland, during which he gave a speech at the University of Zurich proposing ‘a kind of United States of Europe’, essentially predicting the European Union. Churchill kept the watch until his death almost 20 years later, so it clearly meant something to him.”
Mr Charlie Foxall, senior watch specialist, Sotheby's, Geneva
10.
1971 Rolex Cosmograph Oyster Albino Reference 6263, formerly owned by Mr Eric Clapton
Mr Eric Clapton performs live on stage at Ahoy in Rotterdam, Netherlands, April 1995. Photograph by Mr Rob Verhorst/Redferns/Getty Images. Watch photograph courtesy of Phillips
“The Clapton Cosmograph was one of five known examples of a very rare Reference 6263 where the subsidiary dials are not in black with white printing, but in the same silver as the dial plate, giving a very unusual, almost frosted look. It would have been a trophy watch in its own right, but it also had the sensational provenance of having belonged to arguably the world’s greatest rock guitarist.”
Mr James Marks, senior watch specialist, Phillips, London
