The Magic Of Owning A Celebrity’s Wristwatch

Owning a rare watch of exquisite quality is one of life’s true pleasures. Most of these watches have been made by brands with a history spanning decades, if not centuries. This gives it quite a bit of pedigree, but if the previous owner of such a watch was also a well-known celebrity, its appeal increases on all levels.

To get such a rare connection, it is essential that the watch was worn prominently. This makes it all the more desirable, as the celebrity’s image becomes inseparable from the timepiece. An excellent example of this is the Cartier Tank Normale owned by Jackie Kennedy. The watch was a gift from Prince Stanislas Radziwill, who also had the watch engraved to commemorate the 50-mile hike to which his brother-in-law, President Kennedy, challenged him. Jackie Kennedy must have been very pleased, as she wore the Cartier prominently during the rest of her life, including in many iconic photos. This is also a rare occasion when a celebrity’s wristwatch gets another star as a new owner. Allegedly it was Kim Kardashian West, who bought Kennedy’s Cartier at auction in 2017.

While normally engravings devaluate what a watch is worth, this is quite the opposite with celebrity-owned pieces. Joanne Woodward gave in the late 1960’s a Rolex Daytona to her husband, Paul Newman. It was engraved on the back with the text, “Drive carefully, me.” The occasion for this gift was to mark the start of the very successful, and safe, racing career of the actor, which included winning the GT-class of the 24-hour endurance race at Daytona in 1995 at the age of 70. In this case, Newman’s name also became synonymous with the rare dial design of this Daytona, making owning Paul Newman’s ‘Paul Newman’ Daytona all the more desirable and explaining why it was sold for $. 17,752,500,- (including buyers premium).

Fictional characters can also have quite an impact on the desirability of a watch. Specific models by Rolex, Seiko, and Omega will forever be linked to the world’s most famous secret agent, James Bond. While you could purchase the same model as worn by Connery, Lazenby, Moore, Dalton, Brosnan, or Craig, it is even more tempting to get the actual watch worn in the movie. Especially when this watch received plenty of screen time. In case of James Bond, one could even end up with a tricked-out watch, courtesy of Q’s department. Though the ability to actually wear the watch might be a bit compromised, as is the case with the Ref. 5513 Submariner from ‘Live And Let Die,’ which came with a razor-sharp bezel.