Page 82 - Forbes - Asia (June 2018)

Forbes Life OUT OF THE ASHES

DAMN STUNTMAN IN THE WORLD. STEVE—making it Queen. In 2011 his 1970 Porsche 911S, which had a cameo in
the only known McQueen watch to bear the actor’s name. Le Mans, sold at auction for $1.38 million. (he same car with-
For decades McQueen’s watch was presumed missing, until out the McQueen connection would sell for around $75,000.)
July 2016, when the historic Sand Fire raged through Los An- And last year the 1970 Porsche 917K that took home the
geles for nearly two weeks. Among the 18 Canyon Coun- checkered lag in that ilm sold for more than $14 million at
try homes lost in the massive wildire was the house in which auction—a record for a Porsche.
Janes, who was sufering from Alzheimer’s disease, had lived But it’s still Newman who has the upper hand in the watch
with his wife since the 1990s. (He died in June 2017.) Eisenberg world, thanks to the Phillips auction last October. In less than
remembers reading a story at the time about the couple losing ive years, under the aegis of Aurel Bacs, the star auctioneer be-
all their possessions, including some of Janes’ most treasured hind Phillips’ partner Bacs & Russo, and Paul Boutros, Phillips’
mementos: mugs belonging to John Wayne, a knife used by head of Americas and an international strategy advisor for the
Sylvester Stallone in Rambo: First Blood Part II and McQueen’s watch division, the auction house has become the market leader
Submariner. in terms of annual watch sales—$112 million in 2017, up more
“I begged them to go back to the house and si through than $5 million from 2016. A er the record Paul Newman Day-
ashes,” Eisenberg says, recalling the conversations he had with tona sale last year, Phillips shattered a few more records in May
Janes’ wife and their daughter, Erika. “A few weeks later, they when it auctioned 32 vintage Daytonas in Geneva. All 32 lots
called me back to say they had found it.” found a buyer, and ive timepieces sold for more than $1 million
Now, even a Rolex that has survived that kind of holocaust each. hat same weekend, Phillips auctioned an Omega watch
cannot be expected to keep on ticking. A er all, a Submariner owned by Elvis for $1.8 million (a record for that brand), bring-
was designed for deep-sea conditions—not ire. So Eisenberg ing the two-day total to more than $45 million.
recommended that the family take the watch to Gearys, a With such a turbo-fueled watch market, Eisenberg knew
luxury boutique in Beverly Hills, to have it professional- that he would be able to sell the McQueen Submariner almost
ly restored. Gearys immediately sent the watch to Rolex head- as quickly as he bought it. “When
quarters in New York, which miraculously brought the watch it inally dawned on me that I was
back to life, preserving the precious case back. To this day, soot never going to own the Newman
is wedged in the bracelet clasp. watch,” he says of his strategy
Upon returning the watch to Erika Janes, Rolex sent her a to bring the Rolex to auction, “I
letter highlighting its extraordinary provenance. “he story you reached out to Phillips and said,
graciously shared with our oicial Rolex Jeweler,” a customer ‘I’ve got your next hero watch.’ ”
service manager wrote, “is an amazing testament to the dura- Boutros agreed. “He saw what
bility of a Rolex timepiece. Your father, through his devotion to we did with the Newman watch,
his cra , his fellow stuntmen, those for whom he daringly dou- the efort we put behind it,” he
bled—including his friend and gi er of his watch—Mr. Steve says, “because he felt like Phillips
McQueen, and of course to his family, demonstrates traits that could do something special with
embody true Excellence. We are proud that he chooses to wear it.” Rather than rush it to auc-
a Rolex Submariner.” Hammer time: Can McQueen’s tion following the Newman fren-
With the watch restored, Eisenberg made the Janes fami- Submariner eclipse the $17.8 zy, Phillips decided to wait a year.
ly a generous ofer to buy it—though he declines to name the million auction price of Paul “Similar to the Newman watch,
Newman’s Rolex Daytona?
amount. A er ielding a few other estimates, they accepted we wanted to give this timepiece
Eisenberg’s bid; the family and Boys Republic, a charity that the spotlight it deserves.”
McQueen cared deeply about, will also receive a portion of the he McQueen Submariner will have a low presale esti-
auction sale. mate—between $300,000 and $600,000—but so did Newman’s
Much as Eisenberg loves collecting celebrity memorabil- Rolex, which was modestly expected to exceed $1 million. “My
ia—he’s owned everything from James Bond tuxedos to a Dor- real estate background tells me that there’s more air in the bub-
othy dress from he Wizard of Oz—he occasionally sells his ble,” Eisenberg says of the astronomical auctions. “here’s never
most valuable items, usually to buy better ones. (In 2014 he re- been so much money out there. hese sale prices are like tele-
portedly sold the “Captain America” chopper from Easy Rider phone numbers.” But, he continues, “I worked at Drexel back
at auction for $1.35 million.) But no star has the allure of Steve in the day and learned you can’t call a top and you can’t call a
McQueen when it comes to collectibility—in large part be- bottom.”
cause he was seen as a man’s man who lived his movie fantasies As for the inal sale price the watch will reach this Octo-
in real life and also because of the scarcity of the cars, bikes and ber, Eisenberg doesn’t believe McQueen will surpass Newman,
clothes he actually owned. “Elvis, Bogart, James Dean,” Eisen- but he’s optimistic: “I think this irm has the ability to do that.
berg says, “nobody’s items have sold for the same prices. It I trust the universe.” Besides, he notes, “it only takes two bid-
could be 10x or 100x if it were owned by McQueen.” ders” and then the “mine’s bigger” mentality takes over. “And
he King of Cool certainly reigns among car collectors, I’m not talking about body parts—I’m talking about check-
who regularly pay a premium for a vehicle once owned by Mc- books.” F

80 | FORBES ASIA JUNE 2018