From Federer and Cary Grant to DiCaprio and Zidane: Here are some watches to save the world
It’s a bumper month for watches at auction: the timepieces that once graced the wrists of Cary Grant and Zinedine Zidane are going under the hammer, as well as four special offerings from Rolex with links to Leonardo DiCaprio and Roger Federer.
The English-American actor Cary Grant was a Hollywood star with a generous streak: not only did he give his own gold watch to the woman who cared for his mother in her old age, but he also covered her nursing home fees. The family of this woman, Maggie Leach, are now selling the storied timepiece.
Cary Grant's watch
The watch will go under the hammer on September 10, at Clevedon Salerooms, as part of the auction house’s Autumn Specialist Sale of Antiques and Collectables. Born in Bristol, Grant rose to fame in classics such as North by Northwest and To Catch a Thief.
‘It’s not often a piece comes to us with a story quite this personal,’ says Henry Michallat, an auctioneer at Clevedon Salerooms. ‘This watch is a lovely reminder that even one of Hollywood's biggest names never forgot where, and who, they came from.’
The watch in question is an 18-carat gold, Bueche Girod ladies bracelet-style treasure, likely made in the 1970s. It has Roman numerals on its face and a lapis lazuli crown.
Charity seems to be the flavour of the month. On September 28, four unique, gem-set Rolex Oyster Perpetual Cosmograph Daytona watches are heading to auction to raise money for the brand’s Perpetual Planet Initiative.
The watches come in four colourways, each one inspired by a different season, and the proceeds will go towards the Federer Foundations and Re:Wild.
The former was founded by Roger Federer and champions early learning for children in southern Africa and Switzerland; the latter, founded by Leonardo DiCaprio, protects and restores wild eco-systems. The tennis player and the actor are longtime Rolex testimonies.
'Autumn', by Rolex.
If the ‘Fab Four’ aren't your speed, the first proper wristwatch of Zinedine Zidane, the French football manager and former player, is coming up for sale tomorrow. His Cartier Pasha will be offered in Christie’s Rare Watches auction and proceeds will benefit ELA International — of which he has been a patron for more than 25 years.
The charity is a non-profit organisation that coordinates research and funding to fight leukodystrophies (rare genetic diseases of the central nervous system). Zidane’s watch features a stainless steel bracelet and sapphire cabochon-set pushers.
‘This Cartier Pasha was the first watch I bought for myself with my first salary when I was playing in Bordeaux,’ says Zidane. ‘I purchased it nearly 35 years ago and it has remained with me ever since… I hope it will also hold special meaning for the person who acquires it.’
