For Years, Sylvester Stallone Secretly Owned a Legendary Watch—Now It's Up for Sale

Cam Wolf
·6 min read

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Sylvester Stallone is one of the most influential watch collectors of the last 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 is auctioning off 11 pieces from his collection through Sotheby’s in June. While there are watches included in the sale that we’ve seen the action star wear in movies like The Expendables 2, the crown jewel of this auction has been hidden from view until today.

Funny, the key to my heart uses the exact same design
Funny, the key to my heart uses the exact same design

For the first time, a Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime 6300 is coming 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 that 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 current estimate for the watch is $2.5 million to $5 million. I’d bet on the over.

Look at the AirPods case!
Look at the AirPods case!

While Stallone might be best known for the beefy and rugged Panerais he helped make famous, the 6300 shows that his tastes are wide-ranging. “I’ve had the privilege of owning some truly remarkable watches over the years, each with its own unique character and history,” Stallone said in a statement. “I enjoy the collecting process like so many others in this passionate community, who don’t just see watches as an accessory, but admire them for their history, craftsmanship, artistry—but most importantly—how they make them feel. Looking at these watches, I feel truly lucky to have owned them; they serve as a reminder that hard work pays off. While parting ways with this collection is bittersweet, I cherish that I’ve owned them with pride, and hope they will be appreciated and admired in their next homes.”

A smaller collection of Stallone’s watches previously came up for auction in 2020. That assortment consisted of a single Panerai and four Richard Mille watches and sold for a total of $3.1 million. The highlight then was the Panerai Luminor he wore in his movie Daylight, which sold for $214,200.

While the Grandmaster Chime is the main attraction of this latest Stallone sale, the remaining 10 watches aren’t slouches. Let’s run through them quickly. (Estimates in parentheses.)

Panerai Luminor Submersible 1950 PAM00382 ($30,000 to 60,000)

This one is pure Stallone—the very brand and type of watches he helped make famous. The rocket in the bazooka is the fact Stallone wore this exact piece in The Expendables 2.

Patek Philippe Reference 5711/1300A-001 ($200,000 to 400,000)

A gem-set Nautilus with a green dial. Patek started producing the green-dial Nautilus pieces during the beloved model’s last year of production. All of them are highly sought after, but especially this bejeweled one. “The most exclusive of all modern Nautilus, exclusively distributed to VIP and VVIP Patek client,” Sotheby’s writes in a release. Stallone, presumably is VV-status.

Panerai Luminor Submersible ‘Piece Unique’ PAM00269 ($30,000 to 60,000)

When you help a brand gain international renown, it might pay the favor back with some cool one-of-ones. This particular piece takes the tough Luminor and casts it in yellow gold.

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Tourbillon 50th Anniversary ($100,000 to 200,000)

Extra points for the smoky dial looks like the aftermath of a grenade blast Stallone might set off in one of his movies.

Patek Philippe Nautilus 5711/1A-001 ($50,000 to 100,000)

The hits keep coming. At one point, the 5711 was the hottest watch in the world. Demand was so out of control—with waitlists spanning nearly a decade—that Patek put it out of production.

Rolex Reference 228235 Day-Date ($25,000 to 50,000)

Rolex might be the brand to which Stallone is most personally—if not publicly—attached. In 1976, he bought a gold Submariner to celebrate the making of Rocky. He’s called that piece “the watch I’m most emotionally connected to” in Matt Hranrek’s book A Man & His Watch. So it’s not surprising this Day-Date, with Rolex’s signature green on the dial, ended up in Stallone’s collection.

Cartier Pasha Seatimer W301970M ($15,000 to 30,000)

Even when shopping at Cartier, Stallone looks for the beef. The Pasha is Cartier’s take on a sport watch, done up here in yellow gold with funky oversized numerals on the dial.

Panerai Reference Luminor Submersible 1950 Chrono ‘Slytech’ PAM00202 ($6,000 to 12,000)

As part of his love affair with Panerai, Stallone worked with the brand on a line of watches known as “Slytech.” He gave pieces from the collection to friends like Schwarzenegger in the ‘90s. This is a later edition from the mid-2000s.

Panerai Luminor 1950 Regatta ‘Classic Yachts Challenge PAM00332 ($20,000 to 40,000)

How do you make a Panerai look even tougher? A quick black PVD coating does the trick.

Piaget Reference P10623 Polo Grande Estimate ($6,000 to 12,000)

The most petite watch on this list, clocking in at a reasonable 38 millimeters.

Originally Appeared on GQ

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