A Rolex worn by Marlon Brando in his legendary onscreen performance as Col. Kurtz in Apocalypse Now has fetched $5.1 million at auction.
The famous Rolex GMT, which was sold at auction by Brando’s family in 2019, went under the hammer again Monday, November 6, and fetched nearly three times as much as its original auction.
While a screen-used timepiece worn by a famous actor would already be sought after by watch enthusiasts, the fact that the actor customized the timepiece with a leather strap and an engraving of “M. Brando” on the back of the case drove the price sky-high.
According to Christie’s, Brando’s daughter, Petra Brando Fischer, explained to the auction house that her father was asked to take the watch off during filming in the Philippines — standing in for Vietnam — as it might be too flashy. He reportedly responded, “If they’re looking at my watch, then I’m not doing my job as an actor.”
For the record, it’s not the most expensive star-owned watch ever to be sold at auction.
In fact, the most expensive watch ever sold at auction remains the Rolex Daytona that Paul Newman wore in the 1969 movie Winning. That sold for $17.8 million at auction in 2017 — not bad considering the star gave the watch to his daughter Nell‘s then-boyfriend James Cox on a whim in 1984 because he wasn’t wearing a watch when Newman asked him for the time.
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