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Patek Philippe Unhappy with Sylvester Stallone’s $5.4 Million Watch Sale June 11, 2024 (1 comment)
New York, NY--Sylvester Stallone’s auction of his Patek Philippe Grand Master Chime for $5.4 million at Sotheby’s has angered Thierry Stern, the president of Patek Philippe, and the watch-collecting community.
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Per an article in Robb Report, the sale has drawn criticism not for the money Stallone earned — estimated at $2 million — but for its impact on serious collectors.
The Grand Master Chime, a watch with 20 complications that reportedly took 100,000 hours to create, is rarely sold. “It’s not fair for a client that may have been waiting for the piece for many years and then sees it being sold.” Stern told WatchPro.
The article added that Stallone’s choice to keep the watch in its original packaging further irked the community. Watches kept in their sealed plastic pouches typically fetch higher prices. Stallone, aware of this, never broke the seal on his Grand Master Chime, a behavior characteristic of flippers who buy rare watches to sell them at a profit.
The auction made headlines as the Grand Master Chime became the most expensive modern watch ever sold at Sotheby’s after an intense bidding war. Per the article, Stern received complaints about the sale, with some accusing Patek Philippe of granting preferential access to celebrities over genuine collectors.
While Stern did not confirm to the outlet whether Stallone would be banned from future retail purchases, the actor’s decision to sell the watch may have jeopardized his chances of acquiring more sought-after pieces from Patek Philippe.
Read the article on Robb Report.