The 2 legendary wristwatches from the film "Apocalypse Now" - Charly Sheen, Marlon Brando

The Seiko 6105 is also called the "Captain Willard." This classic diver's watch was one of the favorite watches of US soldiers during the Vietnam War (probably because it was sold in Army base stores).

Director Francis Ford Coppola gave Captain Willard (Martin Sheen), the main character of his anti-war film, this authentic accessory. Willard's opponent, the jungle warlord Colonel Kurtz, was played by Marlon Brando.

The eccentric insisted on wearing his own watch in the film, a Rolex GMT Master Ref. 1675 (Brando had carved his name into the back of the watch like a grade-schooler). Production was concerned that the watch might be too conspicuous (which is funny, because Brando, too corpulent for the role, was only filmed in semi-darkness anyway).

In any case, to avoid further conflict with Coppola, the actor simply blew off the bezel and kept it on as the jungle prince.

Last point: This Rolex, quite unique in every respect, was auctioned for almost two million dollars in 2019.

A very special specimen

Brando's Rolex GMT-Master was sold at Phillips Auction House for nearly two million US dollars. The auction house announced this on its website. It is a remarkably well-preserved GMT-Master Reference 1675 from 1972. Brando's watch is made of stainless steel and comes with a rubber strap. However, the actor wore a leather strap in the film.

Unique piece with signature of Marlon Brando

In addition to Marlon Brando as its prominent owner, the watch has two other special features. First, the Hollywood star carved his name on the back of the Rolex. "M. Brando" is written there in somewhat awkward handwriting. Second, because the producers of "Apocalypse Now" were against Brando wearing the watch in the film—in their opinion, the Rolex was too conspicuous—Brando simply toned down the look himself. He simply pried off the 24-hour rotating bezel. One sacrilege after another, many a watch fan might think. However, these very minor "crimes" may not be entirely innocent of the high auction result of almost $2 million.

Source: gq-magazin.de, esquire.de