How Much Would You Pay For Freddie Mercury’s Plastic Seiko?
A prime example of a niche Seiko with unmatched provenance is blowing its estimate out of the water.
It’s been a bit of a quiet summer in the auction world, and, though the fall promises excitement (Only Watch is coming — read Jack and my takes here and here), it’s been a minute since we’ve had anything exciting to talk about in the world of auction results. Now, courtesy of Sotheby’s comprehensive sale of personal effects belonging to music icon Freddie Mercury, that problem has been solved.
For those few of you who don’t know, Freddie Mercury was the lead singer and primary songwriter for the legendary British rock band Queen. Freddie Mercury was a frontman of virtuosic talent with a rare vocal range and dexterity. Charismatic and effervescent, Mercury had an undeniable impact on both music and broader popular culture over the nearly twenty years between the release of Queen’s first album and his tragic death in 1991.
More than three decades removed from his death, a vast swath of his personal effects — the contents of his Kensington home, Garden Lodge — are hitting the block at Sotheby’s, offering those who loved and admired the man a chance to own a rare memento from the icon’s private refuge.
The sale (or really, sales — the lots are divided into six online and in-person sales), is wide-ranging, encompassing art, furniture, memorabilia and more. In a rather circular moment, the auction also includes several lots comprising a rather impressive collection of auction catalogs from, among others, Sotheby’s itself — a clear demonstration of how seriously Mercury took his collecting.
While all this is certainly interesting, and while there are a number of incredibly compelling lots on offer (like Mercury’s 1975 Martin D-35), we are here to talk about watches. Large estate auctions like this usually include compelling timepieces. And when you add in a compelling provenance, the results can be staggering, as we saw with the Paul Newman estate sale at Sotheby’s back in June (which you can read about here).
Based on the lots offered, Mercury doesn’t seem to have been much of a watch collector. While there are some truly incredible clocks mixed among the lots, including some stunning Cartier desk clocks (shown above), there only seems to be one wristwatch on offer — a Seiko S229-5001.
This thing is actually a pretty cool watch. The S229-5001, with its red plastic case and red Velcro strap, is actually a pretty cool piece. Released in the early 80s, this multi-function digital watch was the first Seiko to contain a pulsometer, along with the expected digital time display, alarm, and chronograph one would expect of a fully featured digital watch. With its very rectangular case, bright color, and Velcro strap, the watch also seems like it would be an absolute blast to wear.
With an estimate of 300-500 GBP, this watch was already expected to go for big money (the only other example I can find on the market based on a cursory Google search is listed on eBay for $219.99, and it’s not even red), but as of the time of this writing, the watch is blowing that old estimate out of the water.
If you were to try and snag Freddie Mercury’s Seiko S229-5001, the current bid at the time of this writing is 4,800 GBP (a little over $6,000). But don’t worry, the lot doesn’t close until September 13, so you have the better part of a month to get your ducks in a row and offer up a new home for this unquestionably awesome watch.