Marlon Brando’s Rolex GMT-Master ref. 1675 sold for CHF 3,443,000 at Christie’s Geneva auction on 6 November 2023. That sale has already happened: the watch had previously brought $1,952,000 at Phillips New York in 2019. The two auction houses reported the results in different currencies, so the figures should not be treated as a direct price increase without a dated currency conversion and a consistent account of fees.
What did Brando’s Rolex sell for?
Christie’s reported a realized price of CHF 3,443,000 at its Geneva sale on 6 November 2023. Phillips had sold the watch for $1,952,000 in New York on 10 December 2019. These are the documented results for the same watch, stated in the currencies reported by each auction house. Christie’s sale recap and Phillips’ lot record record the respective outcomes.
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Christie’s listed the 2023 estimate as “On Request,” rather than publishing a public estimate. The sale notice said the lot was subject to a minimum price guarantee financed by a third party, who might receive a fee, and that bidders needed a high-value paddle. Those terms describe the auction setup; they do not change the reported realized price.
Which watch was it?
The lot was a stainless-steel Rolex GMT-Master, reference 1675, circa 1972, with a 39 mm case, black dial, automatic movement and case number 3’245’836. Brando wore it as Colonel Walter E. Kurtz during the filming of Francis Ford Coppola’s 1979 film Apocalypse Now. The caseback is hand-engraved “M. Brando,” and the watch has no bezel—features that are part of this particular screen-used watch’s documented appearance. Christie’s catalogue entry gives the specifications and lot details.
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How did it return to auction?
Christie’s provenance records that Brando gave the watch to his daughter Petra Brando Fischer in 1995. Phillips sold it in New York on 10 December 2019 as lot 30; Christie’s later offered it in Geneva in 2023. The Christie’s lot included signed provenance letters from Petra Brando Fischer and Caroline Barrett, as well as two custom “M B” straps designed by Attila Aszodi.
How to read the two sale prices
| Auction | Reported result |
|---|---|
| Phillips, New York, 10 December 2019 | $1,952,000 (Phillips’ reported sale result) |
| Christie’s, Geneva, 6 November 2023 | CHF 3,443,000 (Christie’s’ reported sale result) |
The amounts are not directly comparable as written: they are denominated in different currencies and refer to sales held nearly four years apart. The auction records also do not establish a present-day valuation, a general market trend for reference 1675 watches, or a future sale. This is the record for one unusually distinctive watch with a documented film and ownership history.
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