Phillips Smashes Auction Records With $10.8M USD Sale of Francis Ford Coppola’s F.P. Journe FFC

Summary

• Francis Ford Coppola’s unique F.P.Journe FFC Prototype was sold for $10.8 million USD at Phillips
• This broke the world auction record for both the most expensive watch sold from F.P.Journe and an independent watchmaker

Update: Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo recently achieved a historic milestone at The New York Watch Auction: XIII by selling director Francis Ford Coppola’s unique F.P.Journe FFC Prototype for $10.8 million USD. This exceptional sale secured two new world auction records: one for the most expensive F.P.Journe timepiece ever sold and another for the most valuable watch by an independent watchmaker sold at auction globally.

The anonymous buyer successfully acquired the wristwatch after a robust bidding battle that lasted for 11 minutes. The final price also represents the highest result for a timepiece sold at auction in the US since Phillips’ landmark sale of Paul Newman’s Rolex “Paul Newman” Daytona in 2017, underscoring the immense collector demand for unique pieces with impeccable provenance.

The excitement surrounding the FFC Prototype’s sale extended immediately to Francis Ford Coppola’s second offering, the F.P.Journe Chronomètre à Résonance, which was sold directly after the record-breaking lot. This piece achieved a final price of $584,200 USD, nearly five times its low estimate, further illustrating the strong interest in the director’s personal collection and the enduring appeal of F.P.Journe’s work. The success of this auction highlights the continued dominance of Phillips Watches, which held the world record for the most successful watch auction in 2021 and saw its annual watch auction total in 2024 surpass $200 million USD for the fourth consecutive year.

Original Story (October 26): Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo has announced a landmark highlight for its upcoming New York Watch Auction: XIII. Leading the sale is Francis Ford Coppola’s one-of-one F.P. Journe FFC Prototype wristwatch, a remarkable timepiece born from a pivotal 2012 conversation between Coppola and master watchmaker François-Paul Journe, during which Coppola posed the question of whether a human hand had ever been used to tell time.

The FFC Prototype is defined by its groundbreaking mechanism: a sculpted automaton hand that uses its five fingers to indicate all twelve hours. Journe drew inspiration from Ambroise Paré, the 16th-century surgeon and pioneer of prosthetic design, whose articulated iron hand informed the watch’s futuristic, almost steampunk aesthetic. Despite the complexity of the mechanism, the watch is powered by Journe’s Octa caliber 1300.3 with remontoir d’egalité, resulting in a movement that measures just 8.1mm thick.

Coppola’s prototype, engraved with his name, features steel bridges, a rotating white minutes ring and a black-treated titanium hand, distinguishing it from Journe’s own example and later production models. Alongside the unique FFC Blue created for Only Watch 2021, these remain the only FFCs assembled by Journe himself, underscoring the rarity and significance of the offering. Estimated to achieve in excess of $1 million USD, the FFC Prototype is profoundly unique as the first watch in history to employ a human hand automaton to indicate the hours.

In addition to the FFC Prototype, six other watches from Coppola’s personal collection will also be presented at auction. Among them is a platinum F.P. Journe Chronomètre à Résonance, gifted to Coppola by his wife Eleanor in 2009 — a piece that first connected the filmmaker to Journe and ultimately inspired the FFC project. Other highlights include models from Patek Philippe, Breguet, Blancpain and IWC, with estimates ranging from $3,000 – $240,000 USD.

Together, the collection reflects Coppola’s deep appreciation for mechanical artistry and his broader commitment to preserving legacies, whether through cinema, winemaking, or horology. Following a world tour to London, Geneva and Hong Kong, the FFC Prototype and Coppola’s collection will be offered at The New York Watch Auction: XIII on December 6 – 7, 2025.