In late 2020, waning action star Sylvester Stallone was caught lying on camera when his pristine Pre Vendôme Panerai Luminor ‘Logo’, supposedly worn during the entirety of the shoot of his 1996 action movie ‘Daylight’, was auctioned by Phillips in New York. Stallone not only told bald-faced lies about how he got into Panerai but also about the watch itself, which was just one of four pieces he had received for product placement in the movie. In May 2024, Stallone was back at it again when his Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime, which he had been graced with by the brand only three years earlier, was announced with great fanfare by Sotheby’s New York. This time, Sly claimed on camera that the Patek was new, “untouched by human hands”, still factory-sealed basically. Sotheby’s New York played along, while the mindless mainstream watch media parroted the news to the farthest corners of watchland. Patek Philippe knew it was not true and quickly intervened, forcing Sotheby’s to remove the false claims from the catalogue listing. What remains is another shameful video, for everybody to see that Stallone is the ultimate horological fairy-tale teller.
Lot 57, Patek Philippe, Ref. 6300G-010 Grandmaster Chime, 6343140, 5255541
With 20 complications, including five chiming complications, the Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime Ref. 6300G-01 is the most complicated wristwatch ever created. It is one of the holy grails of modern watchmaking. The fact that Sylvester Stallone owned one of these was not public knowledge until Sotheby’s New York announced it with great fanfare for their ‘Important Watches’ auction on June 5, 2024.
Stallone’s complicated Patek fetched a whopping USD 5.4 million, providing him with a profit of around USD 2 million.
Auction link: Lot 57 – Patek Philippe, Ref. 6300G-010 Grandmaster Chime (sothebys.com)
Sotheby’s press release, sent out on May 6, 2024, stated the following on page 4:
“Presented in its original single sealed casing, the watch is accompanied by a grand presentation box engraved with Stallone’s name and a Grandmaster Chime book bearing his name on the cover and inside cover.”
Download: Sotheby’s Press Release (PDF)
On May 7, 2024, Sotheby’s published a video on their YouTube channel, in which Stallone made bold statements about the ‘untouched’ nature of his watch, for instance:
“What I am gonna show you here, is a watch that has never been touched.”
Further down the line, Stallone said this:
“Untouched by human hands.”
Sotheby’s initial online listing, which went live on May 8, 2024, made the following claims:
“An impressive single sealed white gold double face wristwatch featuring 20 complications, Owned by Sylvester Stallone, Circa 2021″
And:
“This extraordinary timepiece, previously owned by Sylvester Stallone and still in its original single sealed casing, is accompanied by a grand presentation box engraved with Stallone’s name and adorned in white gold, and a Grandmaster Chime book bearing his name on the cover and inside cover.”
Clearly, all of these statements created the impression that the watch had never been taken out of the plastic and was de facto untouched/unworn. Now, anyone familiar with factory-sealed Patek Philippe watches can immediately tell something is off. Patek Philippe watches leave the factory double-sealed. There is the inner seal, which is a Patek Philippe-branded vacuum plastic wrapping. Then there is the outer seal, consisting of a brown cardboard box sealed with a Patek Philippe Quality Control sticker, as seen below.
Double-sealed watches are rare and highly sought-after, as Patek Philippe retailers stopped giving them away in this fashion at some point. Done to prevent flippers from buying just for resale, the cardboard box and plastic bag were never intended to be seen by customers and are solely meant for inventory and transport purposes. I remember being shown a 5711 at Patek Philippe in Pavilion Kuala Lumpur, which was unpacked right before my eyes. I was so utterly shocked at how cheap it came across that I had to take a picture as evidence. Not exactly the luxurious experience one would expect from Patek Philippe.
In mid-2017, Patek Philippe made it mandatory for all retailers to always take the watches out of the boxes and cut open the plastic bag before the timepieces leave the point of sale. Peter Chong (IG: @peterdeployant), co-founder of Deployant, made an interesting comment on my Instagram post:
“I asked for the box when I bought my last PP. The SA said that after opening in front of me, they need to return the entire packing to PP. I can only have the presentation box.”
Stallone’s watch was advertised as single-sealed, implying that it had been taken out of the brown cardboard box but remained sealed inside the plastic bag sheathed by the factory. Stallone himself said that the watch had never been touched. Let me tell you, this was a blatant lie! It is customary for timepieces of the magnitude of Stallone’s Grandmaster Chime to be handed over personally in a ceremony that includes a watchmaker explaining the functions of the highly complicated timepiece and training the owner how to use it. A credible source has seen photographic proof of Stallone being presented the watch by Henri Stern officials, and it was not sealed. Anish Bhatt (IG: @watchanish), who is very well connected in the world of watches, stated on my Instagram post:
“The watch was bought from Wempe NYC. They have pictures of the watch unsealed with Stallone”
As a matter of fact, only one day after the Sotheby’s New York catalogue went online, any mention of ‘single sealed’ was removed from the listing, in addition to a picture showing the whole plastic bag. Thanks to the Wayback Machine, this fact can easily be demonstrated in the side-by-side comparisons below.
Sotheby’s also deleted the statement “still in its original single sealed casing” found in the catalogue note.
Link: Listing May 8 (web.archive.org)
Link: Listing May 9 (web.archive.org)
My source said that Patek Philippe quickly intervened, forcing Sotheby’s New York to remove the false claim that the watch was still single-sealed, and so they did, quietly. Major news outlets and the naturally just mindlessly parroting mainstream watch media had already spread the word of the single-sealed watch to all corners of the world. Since Sotheby’s New York never publicly set the record straight, that is the story that remained in everybody’s memory.
The picture showing the whole plastic bag mentioned above was deleted because it clearly provides evidence that the single seal claim is false. This is not how factory-sealed Patek Philippe timepieces are delivered.
The following picture from a recent Sotheby’s sale shows what factory single-sealed looks like. First of all, the bag has a sticker with a barcode and watch details, such as reference and movement/case number, for identification purposes. Stallone’s bag has no sticker. Secondly, the setting pin and hangtag, and in case there is an extra caseback, as with the 5575G-001 below, everything is sealed in separate compartments within the very same bag. Also, see that red sticker that protects the deployant buckle? Where is that on Stallone’s watch?
If we look at Stallone’s setting pin and hangtag, these are in a separate bag altogether. The Patek Philippe prints on these two bags do not align, indicating they were never one piece.
Now that we have established that Stallone’s watch was not single-sealed from the factory, the only question is, what is the plastic bag in which the watch is sheathed all about? Well, it is most certainly a service bag, after something as minor as a strap change. Patek Philippe surely knows.
Thoughts
Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me. Sylvester Stallone has pretended to be so many different movie characters that he seems to have lost track of reality and cannot stick to facts anymore. Everything must be a show. With all the nonsense Sly uttered about his Panerai Luminor ‘Logo’, it was only a matter of time until he would get caught in a bald-faced lie again. As with his Panerai, there was hardly any need to fabricate stories. Isn’t a watch worn by the macho man himself more exciting than one he only fingered through plastic? For someone who wants to be taken seriously as a watch collector, Stallone surely risks his reputation and credibility for very little. Another topic is the audacity to flip such a watch after only three years, but then again, in 2020 and 2024, he also sold several watches that were presented to him as gifts, and as far as I know, without any charity being involved. Not a great look, Mr. Italian Stallion.
Interestingly, whenever Stallone is lying through his teeth about watches, the current Global Head of Watches of Sotheby’s, Geoff Hess, is never far. The latter appears to have a special affinity for liars and scammers, judging by the company he keeps.
Thank you for your interest.
Vintage Rolex and other iconic timepieces under the loupe at Perezcope 
Sly lied for an extra 2MM. BFD in this day and age. The only crime today is the crime of getting caught.
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As always great work on another unfathomable cheat, dear JOSE PEREZTROIKA! As you say correctly, him having worn the watch at least once, would have made it much more valuable at the time. Nowadays, anything he has touched must be considered toxic.
I am so glad I never had to worry about such issues, and can still love my watch collection – 😊!
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Another lie in the watch world uncovered well done Jose ,obviously Sly (Sly by name Sly by nature!) is down to his last few million (otherwise why would he risk his reputation?) so in many ways ,if desperate ,you cant blame someone for trying to con a few extra £/$-as always its buyer beware especially when dealing with auction houses.
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Ought to love Perezcope! Well done!
John 8:32 “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
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