The Most Famous Watch Caseback Engravings - Paul Newman, Marlon Brando, JFK and More

As the resident “watch collector” among my friends and family, I am the go to person for all questions watches. One of the questions I have received on more than one occasion is “is it okay to get the caseback of my watch engraved?” I mostly get this question if the person asking is getting/receiving the watch as a gift for a special occasion, such as as wedding. My answer is always twofold: first, if you are talking about from a pure monetary viewpoint, unless you are famous (unlikely) or the watch is going to end up with some historical significance (also unlikely) then you will hurt the value by engraving the caseback. Second, if you are receiving the watch for a special occasion, such as a wedding, how likely are you to actually sell the watch? The watch will surely develop sentimental value over the years and the engraving will make the watch more special. In that case I say go for it.

Answering these questions, however, got me thinking. There are a lot of famous watches/watches owned by famous figures that are engraved. I wanted to go through my favorite examples of famous engraved watches and give the stories behind them.

Paul Newman’s Rolex Daytona Trio

Perhaps the most famous watch in history also has the most famous caseback engraving. Yes I am talking about Paul Newman’s “Paul Newman” Rolex Daytona. Paul Newman’s Daytona, the one that would fetch $17.75 million USD at auction, was given to him by his wife Joanne. Newman loved to race and drive fast and his wife clearly knew that. When she gave Paul the watch, she had the caseback engraved playfully with “DRIVE CAREFULLY / ME”. This playful reminder to Newman to be careful while driving only adds character to the legendary watch.

I couldn’t mention Newman’s famous Daytona without mentioning the two other Rolex Daytonas he owned during his life. Paul Newman’s wife gave him a second Daytona in 1983. This Daytona, Ref. 6263, is commonly referred to as “Big Red” by collectors due to the large red “DAYTONA” directly above the 6 o’clock subdial. The story goes that Newman gifted his first Daytona to James Cox,18-years-old at the time, dating Newman’s daughter Nell and spending the summer helping Newman build a treehouse. Newman felt comfortable letting go of his previous Daytona because his wife had just gifted him his Big Red. Joanne made sure to engrave this Daytona as well, this time with “Drive Slowly / Joanne”. This message echoed the previous message but with a slightly different twist. Paul’s daughter Clea Newman Soderlund put the Big Red up for auction in 2020. This piece sold for $5,475,000 USD, making it the third most expensive Rolex ever sold.

Paul’s third Daytona is much lesser known than his other two pieces. Paul was gifted a more modern white gold Daytona Ref. 116519 by his wife. He could be seen wearing it while at the racetrack in 2008, not long before his death. Joanne kept close to the script when engraving the caseback of this piece, inscribing it playfully with “Drive Very Slowly / Joanne”. It is not known who is in possession of this Daytona. It would likely command a very high price if it ever saw the action floor.

JOhn F. Kennedy’s Engraved Watches

If you are gifting the President of the United States a watch engraving the caseback is a must. Obviously, watches owned by former Presidents are likely to be preserved, and if you gifted the president a watch he (or she) wore regularly, wouldn’t you want to be remembered? Well JFK had a pretty nice watch collection and a number of his pieces were indeed engraved.

The story goes that when JFK took his oath of office to become president, he wore a watch given to him by his friend, Florida Senator Grant Stockdale. The watch, a gold Omega Ultra Thin Ref. OT3980, looks very much like a Cartier tank. Some have claimed that the picture of JFK sailing shows him wearing this watch, but we can’t be sure. We know Jackie Kennedy was given a Cartier Tank (see below) and the watch on Kennedy’s wrist seems to have a crown more pronounced, similar to a Tank. Either way, the Omega given to JFK had the following message inscribed on the back: “President of the United States / John F. Kennedy / From His Friend Grant”.

JFK also received a gold Nastrix watch as a gift in 1963 from Washington socialite couple David and Evangeline Bruce. The couple were major supporters of JFK’s presidential campaign and the watch was a thank you for appointing David as ambassador to Great Britain. The back of the watch also had an inscription that said: “To President John F. Kennedy / from the Evangelines / 1963”. In 2009, the watch was sold at auction to an anonymous buyer for just $120,000 USD.

The final engraved watch that supposedly belong to President Kennedy is a bit of an enigma. And why is that? If we could validate its authenticity it quite possibly would be the most valuable watch in the world. But since we can’t, it isn’t. Not even close. It’s worth mentioning, however, because of the very intriguing story that goes along with this piece. The story goes that Marilyn Monroe gave JFK Rolex Day-Date on birthday. The very same birthday where Monroe famously sang JFK a risque version of “Happy Birthday” (JFK’s 45th birthday occurred on May 29, 1962). The supposed Day-Date is inscribed on the back with the message “Jack / With Love as always / from MARILYN / May 29th 1962.” Notably, after this performance, rumors abounded of an affair between the Monroe and Kennedy. Unfortunately, very few details not only confirm the affair, but whether the watch was actually given to Kennedy by Monroe. We know that we never saw Kennedy wear the watch, though he apparently told his aid to get rid of it. The watch resurfaced in in 2005 and was auctioned off for $120,000 USD due to the lack of provenance. If the story could be proven to be true, this watch would surely sell for many, many millions.

Jackie Kennedy’s Engraved Cartier Tank

President Kennedy wasn’t the only Kennedy that enjoyed a nice timepiece. His wife, Jackie Kennedy also had a very nicely engraved piece. In fact, the First Lady’s Cartier even had many aesthetic similarities to her husband’s Omega (though the Omega likely took design cues from the Cartier). In 1963 Jackie was gifted a Cartier Tank from her brother-in-law, Prince Stanislaw “Stas” Radziwill. This gold Cartier was inscribed on the caseback with “Stas to Jackie / 23 Feb. 63 / 2:05 AM to 9:35 PM." The watch meant to commemorate a 50-mile walk that the family had completed (though Jackie and JFK partially) in Palm Beach. The watch was auctioned off in 2017 for $379,000 USD, more than 3 times the estimated price of $120,000 USD.

John Landis Gifted a Naughty Cartier to a Producer

John Landis gifting a Cartier Tank to a producer of one of his movies might not be the most high profile caseback engraving I could think of, but it certainly has its place on this list. Landis is actually a well-known director, with his best known movies being comedies including Animal House (1978), The Blues Brothers (1980), Trading Places (1983) and Coming to America (1988). Interestingly, Landis also directed Michael Jackson Music Videos Thriller and Black or White. I must mention that Landis hasn’t worked much since the a tragic accident (and subsequent litigation) that killed three actors (Vic Morrow and two children) during the filming of the The Twilight Zone Movie.

Landis is a comedic director so it makes sense that the watch he gifted to one of his producers would lean heavily into that. The gold Cartier Tank simply reads on the back “FUCK’EM IF THEY CAN’T TAKE A JOKE”. That is all. There is no mention of whom the watch is being given to or the fact that it’s from Landis. Just a unique caseback that attempts to make a point through humor.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Engraved Tiffany & Co. Watch

With the current market frenzy over the the Tiffany Blue Patek Philippe Nautilus, one might forget that Tiffany & Co. has been making watches for a long, long time. Tiffany & Co. timepieces have even found their way onto the wrist of U.S. Presidents. I previously discussed FDR’s Tiffany & Co. (along with his other pieces) in another article. While Tiffany & Co. makes watches, it really has been an exercise in branding since the beginning. Like the Tiffany & Co. branded Patek Philippe, FDR’s Tiffany watch was really a Movado (Ref. 44776) with stamped with Tiffany & Co.’s name. The triple calendar watch was given to him by his son-in-law Clarence “John” Boettiger (who wore the watch before giving it away). Given to FDR on his 63rd birthday, the caseback includes the inscription "Franklin Delano Roosevelt / with Loyalty, Respect and Affection / January 30, 1945". The simple inscription is a very powerful show of respect from a son-in-law to his father-in-law, who also happened to be the President of the United States.

Marlon Brando’s Engraved Rolex Trio

It’s hard to pick out just one of legendary actor Marlon Brando’s engraved Rolexes to feature, so I guess I will discuss all three. Indeed all three have interesting stories of their own. Earlier in his career, Brando could be seen wearing a very unique Rolex Oyster Royalite Observatory. This watch was gifted to him in 1943 at age 19 by his parents. They added the inscription "To Bud / from Mother & Dad /1943" to the back of the watch. Bud was Brando's nickname, given to him by his parents when he was just a child. It is always nice to be gifted a Rolex, especially from your parents at such a young age.

When you think of Marlon Brando, you think of his iconic, Oscar winning portrayal of Don Vito Corleone in The Godfather (1972). After wining the Academy Award for Best Actor for The Godfather (an award which he actually declined), he was gifted a Rolex Datejust. The back of the watch includes the inscription "Vito's", referring to his character Don Vito Corleone, and "MB" for Marlon Brando. This watch sold at auction in 2019 for $40,000 USD, a bargain in my view.

The most famous watch worn by Brando is definitely the 1972 Rolex GMT-Master in the 1979 film Apocalypse Now. If you look at this watch you will notice something strange about Brando’s GMT-Master: it has no bezel. No, this wasn’t some rare bezel-less version of the GMT-Master, Brando and Apocalypse Now film production had the bezel removed. According to Phillips, the auction house that auctioned the watch in 2019: “Brando told Petra that he wore the watch to the set of Apocalypse Now in the Philippines, and he was told that he had to remove it during filming, as it would stand out. Brando said that he argued, ‘If they’re looking at my watch, then I’m not doing my job as an actor.’ He said that the filmmakers let him wear the watch, but he removed the bezel, resulting in the unique-looking timepiece that is so closely associated with Colonel Kurtz.”

This iconic watch was also engraved simply with "M. Brando" on the back. It was also sold at auction in 2019, but for the hefty price of $1,952,000 USD, far above the price of the Brando's Rolex Datejust. This is perhaps due to the fact that the Datejust did not actually appear in The Godfather, and the GMT-Master is a more desirable model.

Albert Einstein’s Engraved Longines

Albert Einstein is considered the most influential scientist of the 20th Century and one of the most influential of all time. A theoretical physicist, Einstein is best known for developing the theory of relativity, but he also made important contributions to the development of quantum mechanics. A physicist known for developing the theory of relativity would, thus, likely appreciate a nice timepiece, right? Well it turns out Einstein wore a very nice gold Longines with a tonneau-shaped case. The watch was presented to Einstein by Longines in 1931 (a year after the watch was manufactured) and was inscribed with "PROF. ALBERT EINSTEIN / LOS ANGELES / FEB. 16, 1931". The watch sold at auction in 2008 for $596,000 USD, the most ever commanded for a Longines watch. One can only imagine what such a watch would command on today’s market.

Richard Nixon’s Gold Omega Speedmaster

One of the greatest scientific achievements of the past 100 years would definitely have to be the Apollo Moon Landings. The Omega Speedmaster has subsequently become one of the most celebrated watches and the anchor of Omega’s product line due to its deep history as the first watch on the moon (and Astronauts continue to wear the piece). Indeed, Omega (and Swatch) broke the internet when they released the affordably priced Omega X Swatch Speedmaster MoonSwatch. Well, I’m not talking about the MoonSwatch here. After the Apollo 11 moond landing, president Richard Nixon was gifted a beautiful gold Omega Speedmaster, with the engraving “Richard M. Nixon / President of the United States / to mark man’s conquest of space with a time, through time, on time”. Notably, because of the value of the watch, Nixon had to decline the extravagant gift. 50 years later, Omega would re-release the watch as a special edition to commemorate the moon landing.

Photos of Omega Speedmaster Courtesy of Fratello Watches.

Chris Rock’s Comedic Rolex Submariners

Apparently comedians have a habit of engraving high end watches with inappropriate (but funny messages). In addition to John Landis’ Cartier (discussed above) Chris Rock has also been known to give engraved watches as gifts. Apparently Rock has gifted other comedians, including Tina Fey and Louis CK, with Rolex Submariners bearing the following engraving on their casebacks: “THANKS FOR YOUR HELP MOTHER FUCKER / CR”. The sentiment is nice, and it is delivered in only a way a comedian like Chris Rock can.