Legal Dispute over Brando's $4m Rolex
December 03, 23
(IDEX Online) - Winning bidders from a $42m sale of watches by Christie's Geneva last month have been warned their timepieces are now trapped in a legal dispute between the auction house and the seller.
A Rolex GMT-Master worn by Marlon Brando in the 1979 Vietnam epic, Apocalypse Now, sold for $3.99m and a Philippe Dufourd 1992 minute repeating grande and petite sonnerie fetched $4.46m.
They were among 113 watches, all from the private collection of Mohammed Zaman, from Oman.
But Mr Zaman filed a civil complaint following the 6 November Passion for Time sale, which has put all sales on hold.
"Mr Zaman is regrettably blocking Christie's from releasing watches to the successful buyers at the Passion for Time sale," a spokesperson for the auction house said in a statement.
Buyers have been advised not to make payments until the matter is resolved.
Rodolphe Gautier, the Geneva lawyer representing Zaman, declined to comment.
The auction was delayed for nearly an hour on the day, according to a Bloomberg report, after Christie's said a "third-party guarantor" made reserve bid guaranteeing a minimum price for every watch.
The sale achieved the highest ever total for a single owner watch collection at auction, Christie's said.
Pics, courtesy Christie's show (left) Brando's Rolex and (right) the $4.46m Philippe Dufourd watch.