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Lost & Found: The World's Most Valuable Watches
the story behind 3 legendary watches thought to be lost forever...
Will Stern
January 04, 2024
In 2014, Hodinkee published their list of Twelve Of The Greatest Missing Watches.
Largely focused on watches formerly owned by celebrities, the dozen included pieces from Picasso, John Lennon, Fidel Castro, and Miles Davis.
As of 2024, that list has been whittled down to nine.
Here are the stories behind the origins, lore, and history of the three formerly-lost watches.
Table of Contents
Marlon Brando’s Apocalypse Now Rolex GMT-Master
During the filming of Apocalypse Now in 1979, Brando was asked to remove the Rolex from his wrist.
The production team thought it looked too ‘flashy’ for his character.
Brando obliged (sort of). He removed the Bezel but refused to lose the watch.
“If they’re looking at my watch, then I’m not doing my job as an actor”
The watch would be captured for eternity thanks to the stunning photography of Mary Ellen Mark.
Mark & Brando had previously crossed paths on the set of The Missouri Breaks, a 1976 western starring Brando & Jack Nicholson. During that first meeting, Brando bristled at the perceived invasion of privacy engendered by Mark’s photography — instituting a firm rule requiring his explicit permission before she turned the lens on him.
“I call people like that mind-fuckers… He was really complex, but he was absolutely beautiful to photograph.”
Three years later, the relationship between the photographer & actor has warmed. Though Brando’s rule remained in place, Mark knew how to deal with him.
I knew the idea had to be his. I had heard he was fascinated by insects. There were these jars of bugs being used in the film. I set them down near him and he picked them up and started posing with them. He even put them on his head. He made those pictures happen for me.”
The resulting session produced some of the most recognizable and memorable pictures ever taken behind the scenes of a movie set.
Considering the prominent role Brando’s Rolex played in these photos, the watch’s legend would rise to a fever pitch among the horological community.
But their enthusiasm remained unrewarded for decades, as the GMT-Master was never seen again after the filming of the movie.
By the time it was featured on Hodinkee’s list, its mysterious whereabouts had added additional fuel to speculation over the past and present of the watch — not in small part due to the lasting legacy of Mark’s photos.
Finally, in 2019 — a full 40 years later — the watch world had its answer. After the much-lauded watch was placed for auction, the story of the intervening years came out:
Brando had given the watch to his adopted daughter in 1995 as a graduation present.
As he gave her the watch, Brando told her:
“This watch is like a tank. You can do anything you want to it and it will keep on going. I want you to have it as a reminder of how proud I am of you.”
In 2003, she gave it to her husband as a wedding present.
They never told anyone about the family heirloom, keeping it stowed away for over a decade.
Then, they heard about the $17.8M sale of Paul Newman’s Daytona (getting to that below!) & became curious.
It was sold at auction in 2019 for $1.95M.
Just a couple of months ago, the watch was sold once again…
This time for over $5M.
Paul Newman's “Paul Newman” Rolex Daytona 6239
Hand-down, one of — if not the most historically significant watch in history — it’s incredibly tough to argue that this was not the single most important discovery of the luxury auction world.
It started off with a mundane Summer job.
In 1984, James Cox was dating Paul Newman’s daughter and was working on the property building a treehouse.
Newman asked him if he knew the time & Cox said no because he didn’t have a watch….
As he handed Cox the watch off his wrist he said:
“If you remember to wind this it tells pretty good time”
It would become the most significant watch in history: A "Paul Newman" Rolex Daytona Ref. 6239.
Newman Daytonas are especially valuable due to their rarity, exotic dials, & association w/ the legendary actor.
But this was on another level... It came from Newman himself.
“Over the years, the watch was worn by Cox, who loved it as a symbol of his relationship with the Newmans… ‘It was the coolest thing I have ever had, and I don’t have many things.’
Nobody knew Cox had it… and he kept it a secret till 2017.
He listed it for auction & it fetched a record (at the time) $17.8M.
One more thing: It’s inscribed “Drive Carefully, Me”
A gift from his wife, it was meant as a constant reminder for Newman as he was a fanatical racecar driver.
John Lennon’s Patek Philippe 2499
Skipping right past the obvious hypocritical nature of Lennon owning a Patek given his loudly-proclaimed ‘imagine no possessions’ philosophy…
This is truly one of my favorite celebrity photos of all time.
The patented Lennon shit-eating smirk, the evolved post-Beatles style, and the Tiffany & Co. American Flag pin — a sarcastic jab at Nixon & his cronies, who had ordered his deportation (without success) — it’s pure Lennon.
The photo was taken in 1980, just a couple of months before his assassination.
The rare Patek pictured, limited to just 349 examples produced in total, was a 40th birthday gift from Yoko Ono & is considered "by many to be the ultimate Patek Philippe, capturing old-world charm with modern wearability,” Hodinkee founder Benjamin Clymer wrote.
Unlike some other provenance-reliant watches, this is a piece of extraordinary value, regardless of its celebrity connections.
In 2020, the sole other example of a Patek Fourth Series 2499 in yellow gold, signed Tiffany & Co. (Lennon’s Patek’s twin) sold for $818,600.
While the watch did surface publicly this year, it is not exactly headed to auction any time soon.
I’m going to try to sum this up briefly, for a more detailed account, check out Hodinkee’s reporting + this IG post I came across that contains the court docs.
Among the items left to Ono after Lennon’s death in 1980, she kept the watch “locked in a cupboard with other items from Lennon” for decades
In 2006, Ono’s former driver, Koral Karsan, was arrested after attempted to extort Ono for $2M
After Berlin auction house Auctionata went under in 2017, authorities uncovered 86 items formerly belonging to Lennon among their inventory (including Lennon’s glasses)
These items were traced back to Erhan G., who had sold items he’d acquired from Karson (still, no Patek in sight)
It gets complicated here, as court filings reveal Karsan gave the Patek to Erhan in 2010 (along with the 86 other items), attempting to auction the watch in 2013 before running into authenticity roadblocks due to his inability to guarantee Ono would not claim the watch
With public auction too dangerous (considering the amount of eyeballs the grail would attract), an agreement was reached to sell the Patek privately, finding itself in the hands of an Italian dealer (known to be a shady character & allegedly a member of the Auctionata board) for €600,000
In 2014, the dealer approached Christie’s to inquire about a sale. They immediately contacted Ono’s attorney. It was only then, 34 years after Lennon’s death, that Ono discovered the Patek was no longer safe and sound in the cupboard she’d stored it in originally.
Now, a lawsuit between the two parties has been ongoing for years, but only made public in September 2023, thanks to a Swiss legal blogArthur Touchot (and further confirmation from Phillips’
Still with me?
"It's possibly the most valuable wristwatch on Earth"
With estimates ranging anywhere from $10M to $40M (which would mark a new record), though we shouldn’t expect to see a sale any time soon, assuming Ono wins.
“There's reason to believe no monetary figure in the world could tempt Ono into selling such a sentimental item, much as some auctioneers might try – especially since she's been trying to get the watch back for the better part of a decade”
A final note on this horological/musical mash-up:
It’s been reported that the watch is engraved with a single word on its back, referencing a song from an album by Ono & Lennon. The word is redacted in court filings, leaving us all to guess what it may be…
My guess is either ‘chance’ or ‘together’ from (Just Like) Starting Over, Double Fantasy.
