His lots in total sold for around $1.1 million.
Last week, Bonhams London auctioned items from the collection of English acting legend Sir Michael Caine, with one lot breaking a world record.
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Caine’s 18K yellow gold Rolex Oysterquartz Day-Date (Reference: 19018/19000) sold for around $166,500, which sets a new world record price for the model. The pre-sale estimate for the timepiece, which the actor wore in his roles for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and A Shock to the System, was only at $10,500 to $15,800.
“Ever the trailblazer, Sir Michael acquired the Sunburst champagne dial Oysterquartz shortly after the watch was first launched in the late 1970s,” reads a report from the auction house, “his third Rolex, superseding his earlier watches seen in Get Carter and Sleuth.
Jonathan Darracott, the auction house’s global head of watches, described the development as a fantastic result. “The Rolex Oyster quartz was a ground-breaking watch cased in typical Rolex style but it was really the stardust of Sir Michael Caine that captured the imagination of our bidders with frenzied bidding until the last two battled for the last few bids,” he says.
The March 2 sale, called Sir Michael Caine: The Personal Collection, included items from his professional history: posters, spectacles, and even fine art. There were three other timepieces in the lineup, each of which also did well:
A Patek Philippe La Flamme (Reference 4816/3) owned by Lady Shakira Caine went for around $25,000, way above its $6,000 to $9,000 estimate. The watch featured a cream sigma dial with diamond set hour makers and a diamond set bezel and unusually engraved hands.
Meanwhile, two more watches worn by Caine also sold for more than their estimates. A Circa 1990 Breitling Navitimer (Reference 80360/E56059) sold for around $14,200 from an estimate of $900 to $1,100. This piece was commonly seen on the actor’s wrist in the 90s and early 2000s, and is one of the most well-work in his collection. This Breitling Aerospace was also on Caine’s wrist in 2008 when he signed his name and placed his hand and footprints into the ‘Forecourt of the Stars’ outside the legendary Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.
A 2000 Traser H3 Black Storm Pro, which Caine wore at the London premier of Batman Begins in 2005, sold for a little over $5,000 from an estimate of under $200. Born in 1989, the Traser brand primarily supplied to the US army. The 183-lot auction made a total of about $1.1 million, against a presale estimate of around $412,000.
“Sir Michael Caine is a cinema legend,” says Charlie Thomas, Bonhams director of House Sales and Iconic Collections. “It has been an incredible honor to be entrusted with is his personal collection, and it is no wonder it inspired such passionate bidding in this blockbuster sale.”
Banner Photo from @Bonhams1793 on IG
