Prince Harry’s military Rolex, Sylvester Stallone’s Richard Mille from The Expendables 3 and Steve McQueen’s Heuer Monaco: the celebrity watches selling for huge sums at auction

Dec 22 , 2020

Prince Harry was part of the British RAF’s Attack Helicopter Regiment gifted the limited edition Explorer II watch by Rolex – now a comrade has sold his and it fetched nearly US$40,000 thanks to the connection. Photo: Watchfinder & Co.

There’s a Rolex, and then there’s Paul Newman’s Rolex; A Panerai, and the Panerai Luminor Sly Stallone wore in Daylight: discover the watches with famous connections fetching millions at auction

Celebrity-owned timepieces or watches with unique provenance – such as Paul Newman’s record-breaking Rolex – have been known to hit astronomical prices at auction. For example, a Rolex with a special connection to Britain’s Prince Harry recently sold for just under HK$300,000 (US$39,000).

Here’s a look at some timepieces with unique stories that recently made their way onto the market.

Paul Newman wearing the recently auctioned Rolex Daytona. Photo: Geoffrey Hewitt Photograph Collection

A Rolex Daytona previously owned by Paul Newman recently sold for US$5.5 million at a Phillips sale in New York. Photo: Phillips

For some perspective, at the recent Phillips’ “Racing Pulse” New York auction, which sold 99 per cent of its lots on December 12, a Rolex Daytona once belonging to actor and racing car driver Paul Newman fetched US$5.5 million. While that’s still some way off smashing the US$17.8 million record that the original Paul Newman Daytona set in 2017, it still marked a significant moment in the world of watch auctions.

Paul Newman's Rolex Daytona made auction history in 2017; when fetched US$17.8 million at a Phillips sale. Photo: Phillips

Also sold at the Phillips sale was actor Steve McQueen’s Heuer Monaco. The watch was one of seven Heuer Monacos worn on the set of 1971 film Le Mans. The timepiece brought in 10 times its estimates and sold for US$2.2 million, more than doubling the previous record of the others.

Steve McQueen during the shooting of his film Le Mans. Photo: Getty Images

The Heuer Monaco watch used on the set of 1971 film Le Mans starring Steve McQueen. Photo: Phillips

A collection of Sylvester Stallone’s watches were also up for grabs at the same sale, which included four Richard Mille pieces as well as a Panerai, a brand regarded as one of the action star’s favourites. The collection of five watches sold for a total of US$3.1 million – over three times the estimate.

Sylvester Stallone with his Richard Mille RM032 that he wore in the movie The Expendables 3. Photo: Getty Images for Lionsgate

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