Sylvester Stallone is one of the most influential watch collectors of the past 30 years. In the mid-’90s, he fell in love with Panerai, collaborated with the brand, and started giving its big-boy timepieces away to friends you may have heard of like Arnold Schwarzenegger. (How Stallone first got introduced to Panerai is a matter of great contention!)
Now, Stallone has auctioned off 11 pieces from his collection through Sotheby’s, raising a staggering $6.7 million. While there were watches included in the sale that we’ve seen the action star wear in movies like The Expendables 2, the crown jewel of the auction has been hidden from view until today.
For the first time, a Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime 6300 came up for sale. (Sorta: a version Patek created specially for the charity auction Only Watch sold in 2019. More on that in a bit.) Stallone never actually wore this watch and it’s still sealed in its original packaging. Patek’s 6300 is already a holy grail watch, one of the maker’s most complicated pieces. You’ve seen variations of it on the wrist of Jay-Z or setting records for the most expensive watch ever sold at $31 million back in 2019. Stallone’s watch is a 6300G-010 made of white gold. The watch really earns its Grandmaster Chime name with the ability to go Gong Mode in five different ways, including a grande sonnerie, petite sonnerie, and an alarm.
The specs of the 6300 are impressive, but what’s fun about this auction is it reveals what customers like Stallone get with the watch. The Grandmaster Chime also comes with an equally grand presentation box that’s engraved with Stallone’s name. Stallone’s name also appears on a “Grandmaster Chime book” and a certificate of origin. Also included in the package: “travel case, cufflinks, USB drive, sealed setting pin, hang tag, an Apple iPad with a Patek Philippe leather case, adapter, charger, and Apple earpods with a Patek Philippe case.” I need a PP AirPods case. The estimate for the watch was $2.5 million to $5 million. We bet on the over, and we were right: the 6330 ended up sold at $5.4 million, making it the most valuable modern watch sold in Sotheby’s history.
“A perfect auction piece has a great story behind it. And so much of the story is based on its provenance. Who owned it? When did they own it? Why did they own it? The history of an object’s ownership imbues it with an allure far beyond its intrinsic value,” said Geoff Hess, Sotheby’s Head of Watches, Americas. “At Sotheby’s, we’ve seen objects with compelling provenance create auction magic as bidders around the world all vie for a spectacular piece with a story to tell. Take for example, Freddie Mercury’s moustache comb, which soared to an extraordinary level far beyond its estimate and market precedents. At the same time, I think a celebrity’s popularity and relevance today has an enormous impact on the resulting outcome. Stallone remains one of the most recognised and revered actors to grace the silver screen for the last 50 years, and yet, he is still very much working. In fact, he’s currently filming the next season of the hit series Tulsa King.