Now, I’ve to confess, once I signed as much as write for Fratello, I didn’t anticipate to ever write about Sir Elton John. However right here we’re! Granted, it’s for a superb motive. Christie’s is auctioning a plethora of things from his Atlanta mansion, together with a watch assortment. And what a watch assortment it’s! At first look, that is precisely what you may anticipate Sir Elton’s watches to appear to be if he resides on the fringes of your consciousness. Upon nearer inspection, nevertheless, there’s some severe horological prowess occurring sale right here, indicative of an fanatic who is aware of what he’s doing. Let’s take a look at some highlights!
Elton John purchased a four-bedroom, seven-bathroom rental in Atlanta within the early Nineties. Or, I ought to say, he slowly acquired it by including neighboring residences over time. He used it as his residence away from residence throughout excursions throughout america. Because the singer introduced his retirement with a 2023 farewell tour, the residence is now not wanted. Christie’s is now auctioning a lot of its stock, together with furnishings, artwork, clothes, and watches.
Sir Elton John’s watches — colourful, as it’s possible you’ll anticipate
Now, you wouldn’t have anticipated a group of Rolex Explorers and black G-Shocks, proper? The watches on public sale listed here are very a lot in character for the colourful artists. Upon first scrolling by the heaps, I observed a variety of gem-set watches in vibrant colours. Sir Elton appears to have a very robust style for Cartier and Chopard, though the gathering additionally consists of Rolex, Hublot, Audemars Piguet, Jaeger-LeCoultre, and Roger Dubuis.
A potential pièce distinctive Tank Normale in white gold, set with diamonds and sapphires
There are fairly just a few watches right here that may flip heads amongst collectors. A number of are pièces uniques and others are believed to be. Some are “Elton John” particular editions, corresponding to a Chopard Comfortable Sport with diamond-set “E” and “J” charms beneath the crystal.
Among the many heaps are just a few watches that stand out as extra connoisseur’s decisions. The platinum JLC Triple Calendar ref. 140.6.87 is one. The A. Lange & Söhne Saxonia ref. 803.031 in a 34mm white gold case is one other.
Conservative estimates for the Elton John assortment
One other factor that jumps out at me is the comparatively conservative estimates for a lot of of those watches. There’s a improbable white gold Cartier Tortue Monopoussoir chronograph ref. 2396G, as an illustration. Christie’s has set its estimate at US$15,000–25,000 / £12,000–20,000 / €14,000–23,000. There are at present two of these on Chrono24, with asking costs of €34,000 and €47,000. Each, crucially, didn’t belong to Elton John.
One other instance is the Rolex Daytona “Leopard” ref. 116598SACO. The estimate is about at US$40,000–60,000 / £32,000–47,000 / €37,000–55,000. Now, should you have been purchasing for one which wasn’t celebrity-owned, you’d be dealing with asking costs between €70K and €145K. Even a platinum Cartier Santos with diamonds and an onyx dial has an estimate of US$7,000–10,000 / £5,500–7,800 / €6,400–9,100. Curiously, that is what you might be requested to pay for gold variations that weren’t Sir Elton’s.
In brief, I’d anticipate many of those heaps to exceed their anticipated estimates.
A potential pièce distinctive Cartier set with ruby and diamond baguettes
Closing ideas on the public sale
I do know a lot of our readers are extra into software watches and like subdued, under-the-radar styling. From that perspective, it’s simple to discard the gathering provided right here. I don’t suppose that’s completely truthful, although. I consider that fairly just a few collectors might be following this one carefully. Specifically, a few of the Cartier watches on supply are extraordinarily collectible.
The gathering is break up over a number of totally different auctions. The bulk is within the “The Assortment of Sir Elton John: The Jewel Field” public sale, which runs from February ninth till February twenty seventh. These can bid on-line. We are going to certainly preserve an in depth eye on how this one goes!
What do you consider Sir Elton John’s watches? Tell us within the feedback beneath!
