The actor tweeted that he would be selling “over half” his collection of luxury watches at an auction on April 7th
By Chris Hall
Normally, to find a watch with interesting provenance takes patience and luck. Today, though, the provenance comes to you as Russell Crowe has announced his intention to part with 29 of his watches in an auction that will encompass dozens of film props, costumes and, as he puts it, “general stuff” he has accumulated over thirty years in Hollywood.
In December 2017 he announced the sale by twitter, and while watches were mentioned, most of the attention was on the film memorabilia (and speculation he might part with the iconic Gladiator costume).
You ever look around and think ... bloody hell I’ve got a lot of stuff... yeah , me too.
April 7th next year I’ll be having an auction .Career stuff, stuff I’ve collected and stuff in general . Paintings, Aubrey’s violin, watches ... if you like stuff, save the date
Now, however, he has expanded on the watches that will be sold, and it makes for tantalising reading.
This auction I’m having April 7th in SYDNEY will feature no less than 29 watches !! Representing over half my collection . 21 or so of the ones on sale are Chronographs.
Never had a flash watch as a kid. Certainly made up for it as an adult haha
He later clarified that the watches sold would include “Panerai, Rolex, Cartier, Vacheron Constantine [sic], Chopard, Breitling, Omega, IWC, Asprey, Chanel and others”. It’s no surprise that the list would include a good number of tool watches, but it’s interesting to note the presence of Cartier, Chopard, Asprey and Chanel – evidently Rusty’s tastes are broader than we might have imagined.
According to an article in the Journal of Haute Horlogerie, the first watch he bought was a Gucci from the Duty Free counter:
“I didn’t actually own a watch until 1992. I was playing a pilot in For The Moment, about airmen who were sent to Manitoba in Canada to train before going off to bomb enemy lines on the other side of the Atlantic. This was all during the Second World War, of course. While shooting, one of the crew pointed out that all the pilots wore a watch. I wanted my character to be authentic, so I went and bought a watch at the airport. I think it was Minneapolis/St Paul! Nothing too valuable. A Gucci I paid $390 dollars for. Since then, I’ve moved up a level and can’t stand to check the time on anything other than a watch.”
What’s even cooler about this auction is that not only can you stand a chance of owning a watch worn by Hollywood royalty, but each one will come with a personal letter signed by Crowe detailing the circumstances in which he bought it and its personal significance to him.
Every watch comes with a signed letter saying what project I associate the watch to .
Auction will be live in Sydney, however you’ll be able to bid from wherever you are in the world . April 7th .
There is currently no auction listing for the sale, but to give you a taste of what might be involved, we’ve tracked down a few pictures of Russell Crowe wearing various Swiss watches, both in films and out and about. The image at the head of the page is from State of Play (2009). If you are interested in bidding, you will be able to browse the listing online and bid remotely when it takes place, according to Crowe’s latest tweet.
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