By Elizabeth Aubrey & Kim Parker
Director Francis Ford Coppola has sold several items from his illustrious watch collection, including a unique watch that went for $10.8 million.
The event represented a world record sale for any F.P. Journe timepiece, and also a world record auction for a watch by an independent watchmaker.
The timepiece was sold to an anonymous buyer via phone, after just 11 minutes of bidding.
Coppola sold beloved items from his collection to recoup some of the losses he made self-funding his epic Megalopolis, which portrays the US as a failing Rome.
The Godfather director revealed he had no money back in March, adding: “because I invested all the money that I borrowed to make Megalopolis.” The film recouped just $14 million from a budget of $120 million. Coppola told the New York Times “I need to get some money to keep the ship afloat.”
Coppola auctioned off his watches at Phillips, New York, including a unique piece he designed himself with luxury Swiss watch brand F.P. Journe, which was initially expected to fetch around $1 million.
The watch hand is fashioned as a gloved hand, whose fingers contort to indicate the time.
It’s called the FFC and Paul Boutros, Head of Phillips watches for North America, described it as “amongst the most important timepieces ever to appear at auction.”
He added: “For such ‘priceless’ watches with their extraordinary provenance, cultural significance, and uniqueness, we felt it is best to let the market decide its value on the day of the auction by using this open-ended estimate. We already see interest from around the globe, from collectors across all backgrounds.”
A statement from Philllps Watches added: “Continuing our 10-year anniversary celebration, Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo is honoured to announce the top lot of The New York Watch Auction: XIII — Francis Ford Coppola’s one-of-one wristwatch, made specifically for the legendary filmmaker.
“Born of a conversation in 2012 between the two titans when they met at Coppola’s Inglenook winery in Napa Valley in which Coppola asked Journe if a human hand had ever been used to indicate time, this watch is the first timepiece in history to employ such a feature.
“The two became so captivated by the concept of using one human hand to convey a twelve-hour period that discussions and prototyping continued for years, culminating with this prototype watch resulting from Coppola’s idea. The FFC is the first and only Journe timepiece whose idea came from someone other than François-Paul.”
The unique timepiece was the highlight of the Phillips auction, alongside six other watches from Coppola’s personal collection in the New York Watch Auction: XIII on December 6 and 7.
The director also sold two Patek Phillips watches and a Calatrava which held estimates of $6,000 to $12,000 (as per Art Net).
Other pieces include a Breguet Classique and an IWC Chronograph, which had estimates between $3,000 to $6,000.
Hear Francis Ford Coppola talking about his watch here:
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