What watch do you wear?

Bertucci. Rough and tough and reminds me of John Wayne.

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Murphy Slaw said:
Bertucci. Rough and tough and reminds me of John Wayne.

7H8h1Mx.jpg
Click to expand...
John Wayne's favorite watch was his Rolex King Midas. He was the first Rolex customer to wear one in 1964.

KingMidas.jpg

The case and bracelet are 18K gold alloy and Rolex only made 1000 of these. Nowadays they auction for around $25,000 or 2.5 times the old list price, if you knew the right people in 1959 and could buy one for list price. It was also a favorite of Elvis Presley and Christopher Lee, and if I see a good Chinese clone with a Seiko NH35 movement, they've got my $120. I could live with gold ion plating, but it looks like no one has done a King Midas homage.

John Wayne's go-to beater watch for traveling etc was a stereotypical rich guy's beater watch, a Rolex Datejust which he wore with the crystal on the palm side of his wrist. I'm guessing he owned an old one with a domed acrylic crystal. Those crystals are tough but they scratch easily.

WaynesDatejust.jpgld

Perhaps a Rolex collector can guess which Datejust he favored. Pearlmaster?

Marion Robert Morrison AKA John Wayne was by most accounts a gentle, sensitive man who was troubled by his violent and macho film image, but not troubled enough to renounce the money it brought him. Here is The Duke in 1959, relaxing in Acapulco with his Rolex Datejust. IMO the short shorts and slippers suck, but I like the purse and I want one.

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