Full
Provenance with Two COAs -
Part
of our Renowned Celebrity Collection - 1 Year Warranty
Very Cool Limited Edition Watch Creation Crafted from One of Sambora's Own Guitar Straps
For most collectors,
owning a celebrity's watch means owning something that once sat on
their wrist. This watch offers a much more unusual connection.
The wide snakeskin cuff
surrounding this watch was crafted from one of Richie Sambora's actual
worn guitar straps. Not a reproduction, not a design inspired by one,
but material sourced directly from the equipment used by the legendary
Bon Jovi guitarist himself. As a result, the watch is more than
celebrity memorabilia and more than a limited-edition timepiece. It is
a personal artifact from the career of one of rock music's most
recognizable musicians.
Sambora's importance
to Bon Jovi can hardly be overstated. His guitar playing, songwriting,
and signature harmonies helped define the sound of a band that sold
more than 130 million records worldwide. Songs such as Livin' on a
Prayer, Wanted Dead or Alive, You Give Love a Bad Name, Bad Medicine,
and I'll Be There for You became part of the soundtrack of an entire
generation. For millions of fans, Sambora's guitar was every bit as
recognizable as Jon Bon Jovi's voice.
What makes this piece
especially compelling is that the connection is visceral. The strap
that Sambora used on stage and was repurposed into this watch's
dramatic cuff.
If that old snakeskin
could talk, the stories it could tell: A guitar hanging from it as
Sambora worked out a riff. The guitars it carried and the places it
traveled as Sambora lived the extraordinary life of a working rock
musician. Rehearsals, studios, backstage rooms, guitar cases, buses and
airplanes. The familiar ritual of picking up a guitar and slipping the
strap over his shoulder, repeated again and again as years of a
musician's life accumulated in the material.
Then, instead of
disappearing into a drawer or being reduced to a piece of memorabilia
behind glass, the strap began a second life. It transforms the watch
into something far more personal than a signed photograph or
promotional item. It is a genuine artifact from his professional life,
reimagined into a wearable object.
And it hasn't been
worn by anyone else yet. It remains in new-old-stock condition with the
protective Nixon stickers still on it.
The watch was created
in 2004 as part of Nixon's highly limited LTD program. During the early
2000s, Nixon developed a reputation for producing creative
collaborations with musicians, artists, and athletes. Rather than
simply placing celebrity names on standard watches, the company
occasionally undertook ambitious small-run projects built around the
individuals themselves.
Production was limited
to only five examples, with this watch documented as number 2 of 5. The
result is an object that occupies a fascinating space between celebrity
memorabilia, music history, and watch collecting.
Visually, it is every
bit as distinctive as its story. The broad snakeskin cuff, accented by
rows of crystal-set embellishments, frames Nixon's minimalist Duke
watch in a way that immediately separates it from conventional
wristwatches. The design feels appropriately rock-and-roll while
remaining unmistakably tied to the material from which it was created.
One of our Master Watchmakers has installed a new battery and performed any needed servicing making it ready for immediate enjoyment.
Included
with the purchase is a one-year C.O.T. international warranty on the
movement and its function and a full-page custom printed Connoisseur of
Time Certificate of Authenticity. Also
accompanying it is a Certificate of Authenticity and Provenance from a
well-known auction house.
Nearly
twenty years after its creation, it remains difficult to imagine
another watch that tells the story quite the same way. There are
celebrity watches, there are artist collaborations, and there are music
artifacts. Rarely do all three exist in a single piece.
Connoisseur
of Time's Renowned Celebrity Collection:
Mr. Sambora's guitar strap watch is part of our
Celebrity Collection of watches that has been featured in GQ,
Revolution Watch, Europa Star, JCK, Hampton's Magazine, Gotham
Magazine, Vegas Magazine, Silicon Valley magazine and many others.
eBay recently partnered with us for an exclusive, special sale
for seven of the watches.
The collection has been composed of 140 watches and clocks owned
or worn by 69 iconic celebrities and public figures. It may be
the largest current collection of celebrity-owned watches in the
world. It is constantly changing and is currently headlined by
timepieces owned by some of the most legendary Hollywood actors
and actresses, musicians, comedians, and entertainers:
The King, Elvis Presley. (Just sold)
The King of Pop, Michael Jackson. (Just sold)
The King of Comedy, Jerry Lewis.
The Artist Formerly Known as Prince. (Just sold)
President Jimmy Carter.
Hollywood icons Gene Hackman, Gwyneth Paltrow, Steve Martin, Red Skelton, Steve
McQueen, Martin Sheen, Cicely Tyson, Gwyneth Paltrow, Burt Reynolds,
Laurence Olivier, James Arness, Betty White, Olivia Newton-John,
Bob Hope, Greta Garbo, Raquel Welch, Mickey Rooney, Jane Fonda,
Joan and Melissa Rivers, and Katey Sagal.
Legendary musicians Johnny Cash, Frank and Nancy Sinatra, Janet
Jackson, Beatles drummer Ringo Starr, Elton John, Kenny Rogers,
Harry Belafonte, ZZ Top's Dusty Hill, Bon Jovi's Richie Sambora, Fleetwood
Mac's Christine McVie, Don Mclean, Mountain's Leslie West, and
Hank Williams, Jr.
Sports great and soccer legend Pelé, heavyweight boxing
champion Jack Dempsey, Legendary skateboarder Tony Hawk, Yankee Hall of Fame great Lefty Gomez,
World Cup winning captain and soccer defensive legend Daniel Passarella,
and Green Bay Packer Mike Bucchianeri along with the game ball,
signed photo and watch from the college football "all star"
Blue Gray Game in 1940.
Further filling
the current collection are watches or clocks from King Edward VIII and
the Duchess of Windsor, beloved Hollywood host Ed Sullivan, renowned
illusionists Siegfried & Roy, Academy award-winning actresses
Loretta Young and Doris Day, Whoopie Goldberg, Emmy award-winning
actress Valerie Harper, Golden Globe winning actor Richard Chamberlain,
Emmy award-winning journalist Larry King, Emmy award-winning actor and
producer Jerry Weintraub, Comedian Louie Anderson, Phyllis McGuire of
the chart-topping McGuire sisters, Ian McDonald multi-instrumentalist
English rocker for King Crimson and Foreigner, Elvira Mistress of the
Dark (Cassandra Peterson), fashion designer to the stars Nolan Miller,
the watch worn by Sean Penn in Shanghai Surprise then owned by Beatle
George Harrison, and a watch worn by multiple characters in the
television series "For All Mankind."
It also includes rare watches given by heads of state: A prototype
18K gold Buren Microrotor gifted by His Royal Majesty Ibn Saud,
former King of Saudi Arabia; a Felsa given by former Libyan Colonel
and Head of State Muammar Al Qathafi; a Longines given by Highness
Khalifa bin Salman Al-Khalifa former Prime Minister of the State
of Bahrain; a Baume & Mercier gifted by the King of Jordan.
All three watches are new-old-stock in presentation shadow box
frames with photos.
Recently sold was a watch given a handful of years after the
Civil War concluded by the Vice President Elect to honor an Army
commander who went on to receive the Medal of Honor.
This is a significant, exciting, and constantly changing new
collection you won't want to miss! Stay tuned over the coming
weeks for photos of other special pieces from the collection! |
