Eric Clapton, famous British rocker, is not only well-known for his music but also for his watch collection. We decided to take a look back on the musician’s life and some of the watches in his extensive collection.
Clapton was born in 1945 in Surrey, right at the end of the Second World War. He was raised by his grandparents before briefly studying at the Kingston College of Art, joining a couple local bands in the early 1960s. From 1963 to 1965 he joined the Yardbirds, a rhythm-and-blues band before changing to the Bluesbreakers, a band that was greatly successful in London. This was only for a year as he formed Cream in 1966 with Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker, achieving international popularity. Clapton then formed another band after leaving Cream in 1968 and also becoming addicted to heroin in the early 1970s. After a couple years of seclusion and overcoming his addiction, he came back with his 1974 album 461 Ocean Boulevard. Clapton was highly successful over the next 20 years, winning a Grammy Award in 1993 for song and record of the year for his Tears in Heaven. For all for this success and his amazing story of retribution he is widely regarded as one of the greatest rock stars ever, but what about his watch collecting?
Even going back to the late 1960s, when a younger Clapton was yet to reach his peak, he was already collecting and pictured wearing magnificent timepieces. Below, a picture from March 1967 that depicts Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix sharing a cigarette at the launch party for Track Records, with Clapton wearing a Universal Genève Tri-Compax ref. 881101. A far cry from the tastes of too many artists today. The classic style of the Universal Genève Tri-Compax, a true testament to Clapton’s excellent taste in timepieces going back decades – to when he was only 22 or 23 years old. Quite the piece to wear for the launch party of a label that had The Who, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, and Thunderclap Newman as clients.
Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix sharing a cigarette circa 1967 at the launch party for Track Records
The next awesome piece from the ‘Clapton Collection’ is his platinum ref. 2499 Patek Philippe Perpetual Calendar Chronograph. Produced between 1951 and 1986 this is one of the most sought-after Perpetual Calendar Chronograph references from Patek Philippe, more so in platinum, of course. What makes the platinum version of this reference so significant, in terms of horology history, is that Philippe Stern himself decided to make only two ‘one-off’ versions of this platinum piece with two remaining movements for the ref. 2499. These watches were held by Patek Philippe in their Geneva museum, that is until one fateful auction in 1989.
On April 9th, 1989, Antiquorum decided to host the ‘The Art of Patek Philippe’ auction in Geneva. Patek Philippe decided to sell one of their legendary platinum ref. 2499 Perpetual Calendar Chronographs in this auction, selling it for 418,000 CHF. Now, while Clapton did not purchase this watch himself directly, he did eventually purchase it from a private collector. A remarkable purchase and timepiece to have in one’s collection. It was only on November 12th, 2012 that Clapton parted with the famous Patek Philippe ref. 2499 Perpetual Calendar Chronograph in platinum through a Christie’s auction in Geneva – sold to a private buyer in Asia for 3,443,000 CHF! This was the first time the watch had been offered for sale publicly since 1989, 23 years and three owners later.
Art of Patek Philippe auction ad
Rolex Daytona Chronograph ref. 16520 / Credit: Sotheby’s
The third and final watch we will mention that Eric Clapton has owned is the Rolex Daytona Chronograph ref. 16520 featuring the Rolex Cal. 4030 based on the Zenith Cal. 400. He recently sold this watch in a Sotheby’s auction for 441,000 HKD. It is a 1993 Rolex Daytona, the last reference to feature a third-party movement, in solid steel. While a great reference, Sotheby’s did mention that, “[t]he dial is circa 1988 and may have been changed as the current serial number indicates a manufacture year of 1993. The sapphire crystal possibly has been replaced during the pass servicing by Rolex service center.” Unfortunate as far as collectible Rolexes go, but still the ref. 16520 like the Zenith ‘De Luca’ Daytona are two of my favourite automatic chronographs.
By: Andres Ibarguen
Read more:
“Eric Clapton.” Encyclopedia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Eric-Clapton.
Clymer, Benjamin. “In-Depth A Personal, Detailed Account Of Eric Clapton's Platinum Patek Philippe 2499.” Hodinkee, October 15th, 2012, https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/eric-claptons-patek-philippe-2499.
“Lot 151.” Christie’s, October 12th, 2012, https://www.christies.com/lot/lot-patek-philippe-an-exceptionally-rare-very-attractive-5612362/lista?intObjectID=5612362.