Francis Ford Coppola's Personalized Timepiece Fetches $10.8M at Auction Despite Setbacks from 'Megalopolis' Financial Losses

Francis Ford Coppolas bespoke timepiece has been sold for a record $10.8 million. On Saturday, the F.P. Journe FFC Prototype, co-designed by Coppola himself, was featured among seven exceptional watches at Phillips auction in New York.

After 11 minutes of competitive bidding, the watch was acquired by an anonymous phone bidder. This transaction now stands as the highest price ever achieved at auction for a watch in the U.S., surpassing the 2017 sale of Paul Newmans Rolex Paul Newman Daytona at Phillips.

Paul Boutros, deputy chairman and head of watches, Americas at Phillips, commented on the sale: We were thrilled by the outcome of Francis Ford Coppolas F.P. Journe FFC Prototype. This timepiece embodies the ultimate creative synergy between two of historys greatest cinematic and horological visionaries. Global interest was immense leading up to the auction, and seeing a world-record result in our New York saleroom was extraordinary.

The record-setting sale follows significant financial setbacks for the Oscar-winning director after his 2024 film Megalopolis, which earned only $14.4 million worldwide against a production budget of $120 million. Coppola funded the movie from his personal resources, featuring stars such as Adam Driver, Shia LaBeouf, Aubrey Plaza, Nathalie Emmanuel, and Jon Voight.

Coppola was seen wearing the watch at the Cannes premiere of Megalopolis in May 2024. The timepiece had previously been estimated to be worth at least $1 million.

Earlier in the year, Coppola candidly admitted on the Tetragrammaton podcast that he was financially strained. I dont have any money because I invested all the money that I borrowed to make Megalopolis. Its basically gone. I think itll come back over 15 or 20 years, but I dont have it now, he revealed.

Author: Lucas Grant