Marlon Brando’s Storied Watches

Widely considered as one of Hollywood’s greatest actors ever, Marlon Brando built his name with just a small number of iconic roles. From Stanley Kowalski of A Streetcar Named Desire to The Don of The Godfather, Brando’s chosen roles were few but had great impact.

So were his choice timepieces. The Hollywood legend can very well afford a huge collection of watches; but he had a select but storied few. Check out the watches of Marlon Brando.

Brando personally owned a stainless steel Rolex Datejust on a black leather strap, gifted to him just after winning the Oscar for his role in The Godfather. Engraved on the case back is “Vito’s & MB”, a reference to his character Don Vito Corleone.

Brando only kept the watch for a few years, then gifted it to his friend, Academy Award-nominated designer Patricia Norris, in the mid 1970s.

Brando’s original watch is pictured above. The ‘Godfather’ Datejust was auctioned off by Kruse GWS auctions in 2019, selling for $49,200 or four times the original estimate. It also set the record for the most expensive stainless steel Rolex Datejust ever sold at auction. (photo: Phillips)

In his 1979 film, Apocalypse Now, Brando was seen wearing a very unique GMT Master model. The ref 1675 watch comes with a black strap and has its bezel removed. Brando was initially not allowed to wear the timepiece during filming, so he removed the bezel to make it less conspicuous, resulting in a unique looking timepiece.

Brando hand-engraved the watch himself by etching “M. Brando” on its caseback. The watch was auctioned off in 2019 by Phillips; and sold for $1.95 million. (photo: Phillips)

Brando’s yellow gold Vacheron Constantin timepiece was given to him by his then lover, actress Zsa Zsa Gabor, to celebrate his Oscar win for On the Waterfront. Engraved on its caseback is “To Marlon Love Zsa Zsa June 24 1954”.

The timepiece was auctioned off by Antiquorum on September 17th, 2009 in New York, and sold for a final price of $18,000. (photo: watchismo)

Aside from his stainless steel Rolex Datejust, Brando also had a solid 18k yellow gold model, which he wore in 1972’s Last Tango in Paris. The Datejust came with a five-link Jubilee bracelet.

In this scene from the 1972 film, Last Tango in Paris, French actress Maria Schneider sits next to Marlon Brando, who was wearing a yellow gold Rolex Datejust on his wrist.

Brando had one Omega watch in his collection – the Omega Seamaster 300. It was his personal watch, but he was also seen wearing it in the 1964 film Bedtime Story. The Seamaster 300 was originally released in 1957; and revamped by Omega in 2017. The location of Brando’s original Omega watch is unknown.