Sylvester Stallone Flips his Patek Philippe for $5.4 Million

News

By RC Staff

08 June 2024

Every now and then, we like to check in on the lifestyles of the rich and famous. What do they spend all that money on? Why do they have so many kids? And do they like reselling as much as we do? It turns out Sylvester Stallone has at least a little scalper blood in him; earlier this week he managed to turn an incredible profit by reselling his Patek Philippe 6300G. While this might be the last Patek Philippe he’ll ever buy through a dealer, the extra pocket money probably makes up for it.

Patek Philippe 6300G Grandmaster Chime

You might think watch collecting is only for the wealthy. Well, you’d be right. Sure, brokies can buy stuff like Swatch’s MoonSwatch collection or blow their paychecks on DBZ-themed timepieces, but serious collecting means serious money.

And Sylvester Stallone definitely has the capital required. The star has been buying and collecting watches for decades, and while his love of Panerai is well known, he also owns a few Patek Philippes.

Most notably, up until this week Stallone was the owner of a 6300G Grandmaster Chime from Patek Philippe, recognized as their most complicated design. In addition to a calendar, moonphase indicator, and leap year tracker, the 6300G’s Sonneries audibly ring for alarms or calendar updates, hence the “Chime” in the name.

With over 1,300 individual pieces and an MSRP of $2,200,000, this is one of the most desirable watches in the world. Sylvester Stallone purchased his two years ago, and has kept it under wraps (literally, it’s still in its packaging) since then.

Sylvester Stallone Sotheby's Watch Auction

Maybe he was having trouble making rent, or he just wanted to piss Patek Philippe off; either way, Stallone sold this watch along with 10 others during a Sotheby’s auction on June 5.

When the gavel came down, Stallone’s Patek Philippe 6300G sold for a stomach-turning $5,400,000. Included with the watch was a Certificate of Origin, custom cufflinks, a Patek Philippe-branded iPad, and a pair of Airpods.

Whoever got this, they’re pretty well set up. Depending on your criteria, this was either the first or second time a Grandmaster Chime has ever gone up for auction. One was sold during a charity auction in 2019, but the watch was produced specifically for the auction by Patek Philippe.

Semantics aside, this was a huge sale. And while the 6300G was the obvious star of the show, Stallone’s other watches ended up gaveling anywhere from $30,000 up to nearly $500,000.

So everyone’s happy right? Stallone got paid, some collector gets to hang up a watch with someone else’s name in their house. Well, Patek Philippe President Thierry Stern was not pleased with the sale.

In an interview with WatchPro, Stern said “Of course we do not like it, but it can happen. I cannot control everybody. It is not fair for a client that may have been waiting for this piece for many years and then sees it being sold.”

Yes, cry for the poor collectors robbed of their chance to drop millions of dollars on a watch. WatchPro’s article goes on to imply that companies like Patek Philippe may give “preferential access” to A-listers. Again, we feel very sorry for the Average Joes that Sylvester Stallone leapfrogged in line.

Before we wrap up, take some time to listen to Sly talk about how he acquired the watch:

You are watching a master reseller at work. Writing letters, tactical schmoozing, and making himself look like the ideal collector. After owning the watch for two years, Stallone felt like it was “time for someone else to enjoy it”.

Provided they were willing to fork over an extra $2.4 million compared to what he paid in 2022. Mr. Stallone, we like your style. Welcome to the Scalper Hall of Fame.

And if you want to get there some day too, subscribe to our newsletter. We cover all kinds of items that resell, from your everyday basics to million dollar watches. If you want to get ahead and stay ahead, get subscribed and stay subscribed.