Francis Ford Coppola auctions off his valuable watch collection.
The director of "The Godfather" and "Apocalypse Now" has put seven unique watches from his collection up for sale. They will go under the hammer at an auction organized by Phillips Auction House on December 6-7 in New York. Francis Ford Coppola is reportedly trying to shore up his budget after the spectacular box office failure of his last film, "Megalopolis."
According to People magazine, the Oscar winner was motivated to sell his prized watches by the failure of "Megalopolis," which he directed and personally financed. With a budget exceeding $120 million, the film grossed just over $14 million. "I know I'll be paying off the film for the rest of my life," Coppola commented on this disappointing result in an interview with Die Welt.
As he emphasized during the conference in Cannes, where "Megalopolis" had its world premiere, "he doesn't attach much importance to money," and his three children "don't need a fortune." Nevertheless, he decided to shore up his budget somewhat by tapping into his personal memorabilia. As a result, several valuable watches from his personal collection will go under the hammer.
FP Journe FFC prototype / press materialsOne of the most valuable watches that Francis Ford Coppola decided to sell is an accessory designed by the filmmaker together with the FP Journe brand.
This is actually a prototype of the FP Journe FFC watch, custom-made for the director. It is also the first watch in the history of watchmaking to display the time using a human hand.
This pioneering concept originated during a 2012 conversation between Coppola and François-Paul Journe at Coppola's Inglenook winery in Napa Valley. The idea was born over dinner when Coppola asked Journe if a watch had ever used a human hand to indicate the passing of the hour. Fascinated by this challenge, Journe and Coppola began a collaboration that lasted nearly a decade.
Journe has only produced a small number of watches based on this design, each one custom-made and priced at approximately $1 million.
FP Journe FFC / press materials"Megalopolis" is a science fiction drama that Coppola has been developing for decades. Set in a dystopian metropolis called New Rome, after a catastrophe has destroyed it, the plot centers on the conflict between two visions of the city's future. The film stars Adam Driver and Nathalie Emmanuel, among others.
