It is a diamond-paved cocktail watch made by Swiss manufacture Blancpain in the ’30s, and it’s absolutely stunning
She’d led a star studded life but Marilyn Monroe owned very few luxury items. In spite of her US$27 million (S$36.73 million) net worth, the actress who famously sang Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend favoured costume jewellery.
So this Blancpain timepiece was very likely one of her most valuable possessions.
It’s an Art Deco-inspired ’30s model crafted in platinum and set with 71 round-cut diamonds, plus two extra marquise-cut diamonds on top and bottom.
The watch, likely a gift from third husband Arthur Miller, is now a part of the Blancpain historical archives. So it’s returned full circle to its place of origin.
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Blancpain reportedly acquired this watch at auction for US$225,000 (S$306,090).
On its white rectangular dial, those yellow hour-markers – applied, not printed – and flame blue hands now aged with patina. Both are testament to Blancpain’s fine watchmaking prowess.
That vintage chemin de fer minutes track also underscores its Art Deco aesthetics.
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Dainty but with a strong presence, fragile but also breathtakingly beautiful, it has a Blancpain ladies mechanical movement FHF 59 engraved with ‘Rayville Watch Co. 17 Jewels’.
Rayville here refers to the name of the company as registered in the ’30s after it underwent a change of ownership. It’s a phonetic anagram of the word ‘Villeret’ – the name of Blancpain’s spiritual home.
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The Marilyn Monroe Blancpain watch first appeared in public in New York on 31 October 2019. It was at an event co-hosted by Blancpain and the Monroe Estate.
Along with personal belongings and a curated selection of photographs, this timepiece is an elegant memento of Monroe’s enduring legacy and eternal beauty.
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