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Michael Caine’s Rolex Sells for $133K at Auction
The actor’s personal collection, including jewelry designed by his wife, Lady Shakira Caine, went up for auction at Bonhams.
A photograph of Sir Michael Caine and his wife, Lady Shakira Caine. A collection of their personal items, including his Rolex watch, recently hit the auction block at Bonhams.
London—A collection of Sir Michael Caine’s personal items, from his gold Rolex watch to pairs of his iconic glasses, hit the auction block at Bonhams Wednesday.
Caine’s acting career has spanned six decades, starring in films like “Alfie,” “Get Carter,” “The Cider House Rules,” for which he won an Oscar, and several Batman movies, playing beloved butler Alfred.
Caine and his wife, Lady Shakira Caine, are downsizing and said they were ready to part with several mementos from his career.
“It’s going to be quite a wrench to part with so many treasured parts of my life and career, but it’s the right time to be moving on. I hope these mementoes will give their new owners as much pleasure as they have given us,” Caine said in a press release about the auction.
SEE: Michael and Lady Caine’s Watch Collection
Caine’s acting career has spanned six decades, starring in films like “Alfie,” “Get Carter,” “The Cider House Rules,” for which he won an Oscar, and several Batman movies, playing beloved butler Alfred.
Caine and his wife, Lady Shakira Caine, are downsizing and said they were ready to part with several mementos from his career.
“It’s going to be quite a wrench to part with so many treasured parts of my life and career, but it’s the right time to be moving on. I hope these mementoes will give their new owners as much pleasure as they have given us,” Caine said in a press release about the auction.
SEE: Michael and Lady Caine’s Watch Collection
Michael Caine’s 18-karat gold Rolex Oysterquartz Day-Date sold for £100,000.
This Breitling Navitimer is one of the most worn watches in Caine’s collection, said Bonhams.
Caine wore this Traser H3 Black Storm Pro to the London premiere of Batman Begins.
This Patek Philippe La Flamme belongs to Lady Caine.
The 183-lot sale was 100 percent sold, bringing in £847,000 ($1.1 million), against a presale estimate of £314,000 ($419,900).
His 18-karat gold Rolex Oysterquartz Day-Date (Ref.19018/19000) sold for £100,000 ($133,500), not including the premium, far exceeding the estimate of £8,000-£12,000 ($10,680-$16,000).
The top lot set an auction world record for that particular model, said Bonhams.
Caine has owned the watch since 1979, and it’s appeared in several films, including “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.”
A Breitling Navitimer (Ref.80360/E56059) was also up for auction, selling for £8,500 ($11,350), far exceeding the estimate of £700-£900 ($935-$2,100).
Launched in 1985, Caine was an early fan of the Breitling Aerospace titanium analogue and LCD digital display bracelet watch, said Bonhams, and wore it often in the 1990s and early 200s, making it one of the most worn watches in his collection.
“The Breitling Aerospace was on Sir Michael’s wrist in 2008 when he was quite literally cemented into history, signing his name and placing his hand and footprints into the ‘Forecourt of the Stars’ outside the legendary Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood,” said Bonhams.
A Traser H3 Black Storm Pro, circa 2000, was also up for sale. It sold for £3,200 ($4,270), flying past the estimate of £100-£150 ($133-$200).
Caine first began wearing the carbon fiber military-style calendar wristwatch in 2005, and he wore it to the London premiere of “Batman Begins.”
Lady Caine’s Patek Philippe La Flamme (Ref.4816/3), circa 1990, featuring a cream sigma dial with diamond-set hour markers and a diamond-set bezel, was also up for auction.
It sold for £15,000 ($33,400), more than double the high-end of the £5,000-£7,000 ($6,680-$9,350) estimate.
A selection of jewels designed and worn by Lady Caine were also on the auction block.
SEE: Lady Caine’s Jewelry Collection
Lady Caine, seen here, began designing her own jewelry in the late 1980s.
This Shakira Caine glass bead collar sold for £850 ($1,136).
A collar necklace by Shakira Caine, set with red glass beads, sold for £700 ($936).
Lady Caine created more than 20 bracelets as part of her jewelry collection.
She was inspired by Indian jewelry styles.
She said she was inspired to create jewelry after visiting “The Costumes of Royal India” exhibition, curated by the late Diana Vreeland at the Metropolitan Museum in New York, which ran from Dec. 20, 1985, to Aug. 31, 1986, according to Bonhams.
“Being Indian, I was inspired by all of the Mogul jewelry. Indian jewelry will always live on. It’s alive, vibrant, and always worn with pride. It gives you a spark, a lift,” she said at the time.
She brought her designs to Harrods in London, later launching a line of accessories.
During the late 1980s, her jewels were sold at Harrods and Harvey Nichols in London, Bergdorf Goodman in New York, and Neiman Marcus in Beverly Hills, alongside other accessories.
Her line consisted of 30 necklaces, 40 pairs of earrings, and 20 bracelets.
“The bracelet and necklaces offered in this sale are from Shakira Caine’s personal collection, and they clearly reflect her taste and individual style during a very creative period in her life as a designer,” said Charlie Thomas, head of sale at Bonhams.
Seven of her eight jewelry lots were sold, with one being withdrawn.
Meanwhile, a portrait of actor Caine by artist Lincoln Townley sold for £19,000 ($25,370), well above the estimate of £10,000-£15,000 ($13,350-$20,000), with all proceeds going to the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, a U.K. charity which the Caines have long supported.
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