With summer just around the corner and autumn now underway, we have come to one of the most interesting times in the world of watchmaking: we welcome the auction season. From now until December, in fact, we will witness, as we do every year, several major auctions around the world featuring some of the rarest and most interesting watches ever. Among them, a completely unique watch that we will see appearing for the second time on the market certainly deserves special mention.
This is the particular Rolex GMT Master that belonged to American actor Marlon Brando and was worn for one of the most famous and celebrated films of all time, namely Apocalypse Now. First sold in 2019 by international auction house Phillips for a record USD 1,952,000, the iconic Colonel Kurtz watch will be sold again next November by Christie’s.
Marlon Brando’s Rolex GMT
Nowadays, in a world increasingly full of fascinating watches that have been handed down to us from the past and that occasionally appear on the market, that extra bit of beauty is given, without a doubt, by the history that the individual timepiece carries with it. Add to that the fact that it has been owned by a famous person, and you’ve got it… there you have it-the perfect ingredients to make a watch highly sought after by collectors.
And this is precisely the case with the watch we are talking about today, namely, a Rolex GMT Master that, at first glance, may appear to be “one of many.” However, what primarily distinguishes it from the “masses” is the fact that it was owned and worn by the famous actor Marlon Brando in one of the most beautiful and famous films ever.
In Francis Ford Coppola’s 1979 film Apocalypse Now, in fact, the famous American actor, in the role of Colonel Kurtz, had on his wrist a Rolex GMT Master that was completely singular from an aesthetic point of view. It is a specimen of the crowned house, with reference 1675 and Mark IV dial, completely personalized by the actor himself who wanted to make it unique and unmistakable from all other models.
Indeed, looking at the watch, one can see that the iconic GMT bezel, above which a second time zone can be read, has been removed but not accidentally, but for a very specific reason. To shoot the film Apocalypse Now, Marlon Brando was asked to remove the watch as it would have stood out too much.
To obviate this request, which the actor disagreed with, he decided to remove the most distinguishing feature of the watch in question, namely the bezel, despite the fact that he was allowed to wear it during filming by the directors after the actor’s following statement:
“If they look at my watch, then I’m not doing my job as an actor.”
Further distinguishing and personalizing feature of the watch is the actor’s signature personally hand-engraved on the watch back. Moreover, unlike a traditional 1675 of the time, we do not find the presence of a steel bracelet but of a rubber strap that turns out to be the same one with which it was received by Petra Brando Fischer, Marlon’s daughter, in 1995, as well as being the type of strap used during the filming of the iconic movie.
Having now called Marlon Brando’s daughter into the picture, I think it is interesting to briefly mention what is the story itself of this fantastic watch. Owned by Marlon Brando since the early 1970s, the watch was in fact given by Brando to his adopted daughter, Petra Brando Fischer, for her graduation in 1994.
Unlike her father, who used to frequently wear the Rolex GMT also used in the film, Petra did not use it and kept it as, for her, the watch had a very special place inside her heart. Along with the watch Marlon Brando also gave his daughter a letter inside which the following words could be read:
“This watch is like a tank. You can do anything you want to it and it will keep going. I want you to keep it to remind you how proud I am of you.”
A few years later, more precisely in 2003, the watch was then given by Petra to her husband Russel on their wedding night. Aware of the emotional bond his wife placed in her father’s watch, Russel also decided to treasure it and never wear it.
In 2019, however, Petra Brando Fischer decided to auction off her father’s watch, which was sold by Phillips auction house for a record USD 1,952,000.
Today, almost exactly four years later, this fantastic timepiece, rich in history and famous to the entire collecting world, will be featured in Christie’s “Passion for Time” auction to be held on November 6 in Geneva.
The estimate for what I believe to be one of the most famous Rolex GMTs ever is this time between USD 1,000,000 and USD 2,000,000, corresponding to about EUR 945,000 to 1,800,000.
Final thoughts
As much as nowadays we are always looking for rare and beautiful watches, I believe that this is a more unique than rare opportunity to be able to grab one of the most famous and fascinating Rolexes ever. Without a shadow of a doubt, I also believe that the fact that it was worn by a famous actor within one of the most famous and beautiful movies ever, represents that just the right amount of extra charm that can make a watch truly unique.
As much as none of us ever expected to see it back on the market so soon, we are definitely of the opinion that we will see some good things on November 6, and it will certainly not be an easy watch to take home and, at the same time, a watch that could set a sales record for a timepiece from the crowned house.
Follow us on Instagram not to miss any real-time update.
Visit our Youtube channel to live the world of watchmaking firsthand.
