Marlon Brando’s Rolex GMT ref. 1675

The American actor Marlon Brando wore this Rolex GMT for his role as Colonel Walter E. Kurtz in Francis Ford Coppola’s 1979 epic Apocalypse Now.

Brando’s daughter, Petra Brando Fischer, explains that her father was asked to take the watch off during filming in the Philippines, as it might stand out too much. ‘If they’re looking at my watch, then I’m not doing my job as an actor,’ he responded.

Brando customised the watch by replacing the standard stainless-steel bracelet with a black strap, scratching ‘M. Brando’ into the case-back and removing the watch’s dual time zone bezel — stripping it down to its essential components in a way that his character, Kurtz, might have done. Despite his desire for the watch to go unnoticed, however, these now-legendary alterations made it one of the most recognisable ‘movie watches’ ever.

Once numbered among ‘the great missing watches’ by aficionados, it surfaced in 2019 when consigned to auction by Brando’s family. It realised $1,952,000. It is now being offered again, in Christie’s Passion for Time — An Important Private Collection of Watches and Timepieces in Geneva on 6 November 2023.

Eric Clapton’s platinum Patek Philippe ref. 2499

Ranked second by Rolling Stone in its ‘100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time’ list, Eric Clapton is a prolific buyer of watches and is known for constantly evolving his collection. Consequently, his pieces have appeared several times at auction over the decades, most notably in 2003 when he consigned 25 watches to Christie’s. Among these was a super-rare prototype Rolex Yacht-Master Daytona that was never released to the public.

Arguably, however, the most impressive of Clapton’s watches ever to go under the hammer was his Patek Philipp ref. 2499, offered at Christie’s in 2012.

Only 349 examples of this legendary reference were ever made across the 35 years it was in production, and nearly all of them were in yellow gold. Around 10 were made with pink gold, while just two were issued in platinum.

This latter pair were personally commissioned by Patek Philippe’s honorary president, Philippe Stern. One is now a highlight of the company’s museum in Geneva; the other belonged to Clapton. Thanks to this combination of scarcity and rock-star provenance, it sold for CHF 3,443,000.

Elizabeth Taylor’s Vacheron Constantin ‘Lord Kalla’

In 1979, Swiss watch manufacturer Vacheron Constantin unveiled its ‘Kalla’ line of diamond-encrusted watches. It debuted with the Kallista, which was set with 118 diamonds. In 2001, the Lady Kalla was announced, featuring 122 diamonds. Then, in 2009, the Kallania arrived, which had 186 diamonds.

The watch below, known as the Lord Kalla, includes 26 rectangular-cut diamonds on the dial, another 24 on the bezel, and 266 more on the bracelet — 316 diamonds in total.

It belonged to Elizabeth Taylor, and was offered as part of the landmark series of sales from her estate held at Christie’s. Highlights of the collection, including jewels, film costumes, couture, luggage and fine art, toured Moscow, London, Paris, Dubai, Geneva, Hong Kong and Los Angeles before being sold in New York.

The most eagerly anticipated sale of the week came first — The Collection of Elizabeth Taylor: The Legendary Jewels. It realised a total of $115,932,000, more than double the previous world record for any single-owner jewellery collection. This watch, lot number 40 of the evening, sold for $362,500.

Andy Warhol’s Patek Philippe 3448

In 1988, a year after Andy Warhol’s death aged 58 following complications from surgery, a large portion of his estate was offered at auction in New York. Among the roughly 10,000 items were artworks, clothes, furniture and even the artist’s 1974 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow.

Some of the most talked-about lots, however, were his watches. Warhol owned hundreds: the sales included everything from plastic quartz watches that retailed for just $26 a piece to examples by Rolex, Audemars Piguet and Patek Philippe. Not one for safety deposit boxes, Warhol had hidden dozens of them in the canopy of his four-poster bed, while nearly 100 were discovered in a secret compartment at the back of an old filing cabinet.

The most expensive of all Warhol’s wristwatches to come to auction in the wake of his death was the Patek Philippe 3448 pictured above. Presented in almost immaculate condition, with sharp lugs, clear hallmarks and a well-preserved case, it realised $22,000.

The watch resurfaced in Geneva in 2014, selling for CHF 293,000. It’s now returning to Warhol’s adopted home, being offered as part of Christie’s Important Watches sale on 5 December 2023 in New York.

Jackie Kennedy’s Cartier Tank

Early in 1963, President John F. Kennedy challenged the American public to hike a distance of 50 miles in a bid to boost the nation’s fitness. On 23 February, J.F.K. organised a hike for some of his own family and friends at Palm Beach, among them his brother-in-law, Prince Stanislaw Albrecht Radziwill, a Polish aristocrat who had married Jackie Kennedy’s younger sister, Lee. Although Lee, Jackie and the President didn’t do the hike themselves, they did drive out to cheer on the prince and other walkers for part of the journey.