The Magnificent Watch Collection by Jean-Paul Belmondo

 

It would seem that he had a real interest in watches as we will see right away. So here is our nod to this monument of a bygone era that will continue to make us dream forever.

 

In 1966 in Tender Thug, the actor wore a Rolex GMT-Master . This is a watch launched in the mid-1950s following an order from the airline Panam, which wanted to equip its international pilots with watches displaying two time zones at the same time. This is also why the watch takes up the colors blue and red, the main colors of the airline's logo, reused here to differentiate the hours of day and those of night on the rotating bezel used to read the time of the second time zone over 24 hours. Regarding that of Bébel, it was certainly a reference 1675 launched in 1959 and recognized as one of the most iconic GMT Masters.

Rolex Submariner

We stay with Hans Wilsdorf's brand at the end of the 60s, especially in the film Oh!, since the actor wore a Rolex Submariner . The Submariner is considered the original part of the dive-watch as we know it today and it is, at least as much as Belmondo, a monument in its sector.

The very first Submariner, reference 6204 dates back to 1953. The one he wears here seems to be a reference 5508, the very last Submariner without a crown guard. This was produced from 1958 to 1962 and was only water resistant to 100 meters. A few years later, at the very beginning of the 70s, we see him again with this watch in the film The Casse.

In the professional in 1981, he also wore a Submariner, but this time on a steel bracelet. She even takes an important role in the film since her character insists on going home to pick up her favorite watch. Difficult to be sure of the exact reference but we unseal a crown protector which could correspond to a 5513. This was produced from 1962 to 1990. The movement driving the 5513 was not certified COSC unlike its predecessor the 5512 and it is regularly found second-hand at around 14,000 euros.

Rolex Daytona 6263 Big Redd”

His Rolex Daytona 6263 is one of his cult watches, among other things because you could see it on the movie poster Fear on the City released in 1975. He also wore it in The Incorrigible the same year and in The Alpagueur in 1976.

This piece dates from 1969 and Belmondo would have bought it in 1970 in Paris, around 3,000 francs. He therefore wore his personal watch on these films. Years later, he gave this watch to his son Paul before it was sold to an individual, certainly a fan of the Hans Wilsdorf brand and this monument of French cinema.

In 2013, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Daytona, Christie's organized an auction dedicated to the event during which this Daytona resurfaced. It was then estimated between 50,000 and 100,000 euros, but it was sold for 165,000 euros. In 2021, we can estimate that the buyer at the time made a very good deal and we can only imagine the price at which it would sell if it reappeared…

Rolex Datejust

Still at the brand with the crown, we could see Bébel in 1979 with a Rolex Datejust  in Cops and robbers. It is one of the simplest and most efficient models of the Swiss brand, while perfectly transmitting its values and wonderfully expressing the codes dear to Rolex since its inception. The first Datejust was launched in 1945, but that of Belmondo is certainly a reference belonging to the family of 160xx which began to be produced around 1977 and until 1988.

Rolex Day-Date

Last watch of the brand for today: a Rolex Day-Date in The Guignolo in 1979 again. This watch is often nicknamed the Rolex President, among other reasons following the many international leaders who have been seen with models from this collection on their wrists, as we have seen in our article on the watches of the presidents. In fact, it is the bracelet specifically developed for the Day-Date and launched at the same time in 1956 that has had the official name of the President bracelet since the mid-1960s.

Since its launch, the Day-Date has only been available in precious metals, namely yellow gold, pink gold, white gold and platinum. The one he wears is yellow gold with a white dial and it appears to be a reference 18038 launched in 1977. This is the very first Day-Date reference to replace acrylic glass with a sapphire crystal and to be equipped with the caliber 3055 offering a rapid date change option. It offers a 36 millimeter case, the original size of this iconic watch adored by the rich and powerful.

Cartier Panthere

We change brands to discover two beautiful Cartiers on the wrist of the genius actor. The first is a Cartier Panthere found in 1984 in Happy Easter. At the time, we also saw Pierce Brosnan or Keith Richard of the Rolling Stones wearing this unisex piece which was therefore quite popular with the international JetSet. The collection was launched the previous year in 1983 and was produced until the year 2000 before being discontinued and then reintroduced in 2017. The As of As collection is entirely in yellow gold with a white dial. It now exists in 2 sizes: 22 millimeters and 27 millimeters in diameter, all driven by quartz movements.

Cartier tank

Second room from cartier for the stuntman: a superb Tank what he wears in the movie The heir.The Tank bears this name in reference to the Renault FT-17 tank which would have served as inspiration to Louis Cartier himself for the choice of shapes for this watch designed in 1917 and offered to the public in 1919. The marriage of the square and the rectangle is succeeded and the watch quickly became the brand's most iconic piece. It was derived in an incalculable number of references and remains today one of Cartier's flagship pieces.

Cartier Pasha and Blue Balloon

Several sources also speak of a Cartier Pasha and a Cartier Ballon Bleu on his wrist, the first in the 80s and the second after 1990, but difficult to find clear images attesting to this. Anyway, he seems to appreciate what the timepieces of this French brand exude.

Mystery Watch

In 1984, we discover a watch on the wrist of the actor on the poster of the film The Morfalous and he wears another on the screen. Problem: we have not managed to clearly identify either of them and the web does not seem to be more advanced than us on the subject. An idea?

Breitling Chronomat 81950

In 1988, we could see it in Itinerary of a spoiled child, role for which he also won the César for best actor, with a Breitling Chronomat in gold and steel mounted on a leather strap. It seems to be a reference 81950 offering a 39 millimeter diameter case containing an ETA Valjoux 7750 caliber, one of the most famous automatic chronograph movements in the world which was launched in 1974. This watch is located in opportunity below 2,000 euros.

Panerai Luminor Marina PAM00024

We change millennium and we discover Bébel in 2001 in a television series with a Panerai Luminor Marina at wrist. This imposing diver's watch offers a case 44 millimeters in diameter on which we find the crown protector so characteristic of the Luminor. It is equipped with a unidirectional rotating bezel like any self-respecting diver's watch and there is a date window at 3 o'clock and a small-seconds sub-dial at 9 o'clock. It can be found used for around 5,000 euros.

Hamilton Linwood

In 2009, Jean-Paul Belmondo wears a Hamilton Linwood in the filmA man and his dog. No, it's not a John Wick remake. Hamilton is part of the Swatch Group and is very often present in the cinema. We saw it on the wrist of Bruce Willis in Die Hard V, or on the wrist of many actors in the series Men In Black, all of which carry variants of the famous Ventura as discussed in our article and video on cult cinema watches. The first watches from the brand called Linwood date back to 1938, but it was in the mid-1990s that Hamilton brought this name back to center stage with a new design that would later inspire many other models.

Porsche Design chronograph ref 7176S

In the movie The misfit, Belmondo wears a Porsche Design chronograph  black in color. It is a military-style watch born from the partnership between Porsche Design and Orfina, an army supplier that was among the first companies to master the concept of PVD finishing. Basically, this technique was used, among other things, to blacken the controls of military aircraft to improve the performance of the luminescent indications and thus their readability. It was only later that the finish was used for aesthetic reasons. It is therefore one of the very first timepieces in history to have received this treatment.

This watch was designed by Ferdinand Alexander Porsche, the man among others behind the 911, sorry. Its case measures 38 millimeters in diameter and 12.5 millimeters thick, making it a relatively discreet piece. It is driven by a Swiss caliber Lemania 5100, an automatic chronograph movement recognized as very reliable and robust.

We can note that it is a watch similar to the one found on the wrist of Tom Cruise when he plays a legendary airplane pilot in Top Gun!

Seiko UFO 6138

In 1973 in The magnificent, here is our national Bébel with a Seiko UFO. This imposing watch has a steel case 44 millimeters in diameter and an aluminum bezel. This is a superb chronograph with two sub-dials at 12 and 6 o'clock and date and day windows at 3 o'clock. It is driven by the caliber 6138B offering 45 hours of power reserve. It can be found used between 600 and 1,500 euros, relatively affordable for a piece from the Magnificent collection with a real identity!

Breguet perpetual calendar chronograph No. 576.

In 1974, during the Cannes Film Festival, we could see the actor with a Breguet with a perpetual calendar. It could well be this Breguet No. 576 which surfaced in a Christie's auction indicating that it was a watch made in 1972 and sold on December 22, 1973 to a certain Mr. Belmondo for 3,500 francs. It's hard to know if it was Jean-Paul or his father who made this purchase, but according to the photos of the festival at the time, we have our own idea.

This watch is driven by the 88.13 mechanical movement and features two windows at 12 o'clock indicating the current day and month. The date can be read on the periphery of the dial thanks to a long blue date hand. In the sub-dial at 6 o'clock, we find the moon phase indicator. The watch is equipped with a chronograph complication and we find the minutes of the latter in the sub-dial at 3 o'clock while that at 9 o'clock is used for the small second.

It was sold at auction in 2016 for 75,000 Swiss francs, or around 70,000 euros. Is this what is called a nice added value?