{"id":12882,"date":"2020-12-21T23:41:06","date_gmt":"2020-12-21T22:41:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.watchinsanity.it\/?p=12882"},"modified":"2026-02-26T10:25:44","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T09:25:44","slug":"phillips-paul-newman-e-steve-mcqueen-dentro-al-meraviglioso-mondo-delle-aste-dei-record-insieme-a-marcello-de-marco","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.watchinsanity.it\/en\/phillips-paul-newman-e-steve-mcqueen-dentro-al-meraviglioso-mondo-delle-aste-dei-record-insieme-a-marcello-de-marco\/","title":{"rendered":"Phillips, Paul Newman and Steve McQueen\u2026 Inside the wonderful world of record auctions with Marcello De Marco"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

We don\u2019t get surprised anymore. The growth trend has in fact become steady, and when dealing with unique pieces, well, then, the exploit becomes a constant \u2013 a coup de th\u00e9\u00e2tre that resonates far beyond the circle of mechanical watches enthusiasts and insiders, and spreads to the mainstream media like a Picasso painting or a Ferrari California from the Sixties. We are talking about Phillips’ latest auction last December 12th in New York<\/strong>, which awarded 135 watches \u2013 that is, 99% of the lots \u2013 for a total gain of almost 23 million euros<\/strong>, with the sale of truly iconic watches such as these first five, by final sales price<\/strong>: the legendary Daytona Ref. 6263 “Big Red” that belonged to Paul Newman, sold for 4.5 million euros<\/strong>; the Heuer Monaco Ref. 1133 that Steve McQueen, when he was finishing shooting the movie “Le Mans,\u201d gave to his trusted mechanic Haig Alltounian (and that, with 1.8 million euros<\/strong>, broke all records for the house that today belongs to the LVMH Group); a pluricomplicated Patek Philippe Ref. 3974G-001 (\u20ac843,000)<\/strong>; and two Richard Mille watches from the collection of super-aficionado Sylvester Stallone, the RM52-01 and the RM25-01, which fetched \u20ac823,000 and \u20ac773,000 respectively<\/strong>. And without forgetting the new record for a Panerai: the Ref. 5218-201\/A worn by Stallone in “Daylight” has in fact reached the price of 214 thousand dollars<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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MARCELLO DE MARCO: THE ITALIAN IN AUREL BAC’S DREAM TEAM <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

On the other hand, in recent years the world of watch auctions is living a real “golden age\u201d with a dominant figure in the sector \u2013 comparable, just to make a sporting comparison, to that of Lebron James in American basketball. Our hero bears the name of Aurel Bacs. Swiss, born in 1971, a<\/strong> passion for watches since his teenage years that made him a leading figure<\/strong> of watchmaking since the 1990s: first at Sotheby’s, then at Christie’s and, since 2014, deus ex machina \u2013 together with his wife Livia Russo \u2013 at the centuries-old Phillips<\/strong> where he has become the legendary artisan of the most famous watches on the planet. Such as the Daytona 6239 with a Paul Newman dial (New York 2017: $17.7 million)<\/strong> belonging to Paul Newman<\/strong> \u2013 at the time the most expensive wristwatch ever; one of the four existing Patek 1518 in steel<\/a> (Geneva 2016: 11 million Swiss francs)<\/strong>; the Daytona 6265 in white gold dubbed “The Unicorn” (Geneva 2018: 5 million euros); the GMT-Master 1675 that Marlon Brando wore in “Apocalypse Now” (New York 2019: $1.95 million); and the Vacheron Constantin “Don Pancho,” named after the nickname of its first owner Francisco Martinez Llano (Geneva 2019: 651 thousand euros)<\/strong>. That said, not everyone knows that the dream team captained by the legendary Aurel includes the very Italian Marcello de Marco, a 37-year-old Milanese<\/strong> who has turned his passion for hands into a job that has brought him, in less than a decade, in close contact with Bacs \u2013 and consequently to the top of the industry’s food chain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Marcello De Marco<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

THE INGREDIENTS THAT MAKE A MILLION-DOLLAR PIECE? UNIQUENESS AND STORYTELLING<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The first two questions are inevitable. How do you get to work for the industry\u2019s number-one team, and how do you comment on the December 12 auction? “Passion, will and luck brought me to Aurel’s team, who is a man of unparalleled charisma, with a work ethic as rigorous as engaging, and an uncommon intelligence that doesn’t let him be mistaken about the timing of any auction,” says Marcello de Marco, Specialist and Business Development Associate in the Geneva Watches Department since 2017<\/strong>. “While the ‘Racing Pulse<\/a><\/strong>\u2019 auction was the icing on the cake of a record 2020 for Phillips, confirming that watches are real assets even at such a difficult time for humanity.<\/em>“<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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