Marilyn Monroe’s second and shortest tenured husband, the baseball legend Joe DiMaggio, was not known as a particularly enthusiastic watch collector during his lifetime. But he did come to own a Patek Philippe reference 130 from 1947.
Purchased by the famed New York Yankee in early 1948, the watch is just 33mm, made from yellow gold and features the now iconic 13-130 movement.
DiMaggio owned the piece until his death in 1999 and would wear it regularly throughout his life. It is thought only 180 of these watches were ever made by Patek with 55 coming to the open market in the intervening decades.
The watch is being made available through Wind Vintage, who have set an asking price of $1.2 million.
The Patek was originally sold by DiMaggio’s estate in 2006 for a little less than $100,000, which was still six times its estimate. It was then sold again in 2017 at a Christie’s auction for $287,000.
It is believed by Wind Vintage that the extraordinary price tag is justified by the provenance of the watch being owned by DiMaggio. Without the association with the baseball star, you would be looking at up to $300,000 for the watch.
Earier this year, Blancpain unveiled a watch collection that served as a tribute to Marilyn Monroe.
Commemorating the 100th anniversary of her birth, the jeweller released seven diamond pieces inspired by a Blancpain watch Monroe wore in her lifetime and would be bought back by the maison a decade ago.
The Ladybird Collection is more ostentatious than the watch Monroe wore but contains the same distinct DNA. Each slim watch is fitted with 85 diamonds which total a staggering 1,360 karats. Included in that is 60 brilliant cut diamonds and a pair of marquise diamonds on the 18 karat white gold case as well as 20 brilliant-cut diamonds on the bracelet links, two diamonds on the arch attachments, and one brilliant cut diamond on the buckle. Diamond’s are a girl’s best friend after all.
On the mechanical side, the watches make use of Blancpain’s Caliber 510, which was brought into production in 2020. At 2.60 mm thick, the caliber is home to 128 components that deliver a 52-hour power reserve and a frequency of 3 Hz.
The watches also feature more nods to Monroe with each piece engraved with a different letter from the actor’s first name on the caseback.
The colours of the strap also vary from a bright pink to a distinct red while the watch can also be purchased in the more typical white and black.
Like this? Marilyn Monroe’s jewellery is still iconic: check out some of the best here
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