Which watch was chosen by the most famous gangsters in the world? (16 photos)

From Bulova to Patek Philippe

Al Capone - Illinois Watch Company



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In 2017, at the auction of the Boston auction house RR Auction, the pocket watch of the leader of the Chicago mafia Alfonso Gabriel Capone, better known as Al Capone, was sold. The cost of watches manufactured by the Illinois Watch Company (the company was bought by Hamilton) was $ 84,375. The highlight of this model is the almost triangular platinum case, encrusted with 72 diamonds. Sold a watch engraved with Al Capone's initials on the back, complete with original 14K white gold chain.

Reggie Kray – Omega



Brothers Kray About famous London bandits, brothers The twins Ronald and Reginald Kray were also filmed. In the 1950s and 60s, their gang, known as the "Firm", engaged in murder, extortion, armed robbery and arson.



Still from the movie "Legend"



Reggie Kray, whose image was embodied on the screen Tom Hardy, who starred in the movie Legend, wore a gold Omega watch with a diamond-studded bezel. Shortly after the film's release in 2015, the watch was sold at auction.

John Dillinger – Hamilton



This bank robbery specialist has repeatedly become the hero of films, novels and theatrical productions. Perhaps the whole point is in the romanticized image of a bandit: Dillinger's robberies took place during the Great Depression, and John robbed just those banks that the impoverished people fiercely hated, for which he was known as Robin Hood.

In less than a year, Dillinger robbed about 20 banks, earning himself the status of public enemy number one. They caught the criminal in the best traditions of the genre - by organizing an ambush near the cinema. Dillinger was shot at the exit from the movie show, after which his body was exhibited in one of the city morgues. During the day, 150,000 people came to see the dead criminal.

According to legend, at the time of the murder under Dillinger, there was a Hamilton pocket watch. In 2009, an art deco model was auctioned for $41,825.

John Gotti – Piaget



John Gotti In June 2018 on the screens The film The Life and Death of John Gotti (Gotti Code) was released, in which John Travolta embodied on the screen the image of the boss of the Gambino mafia clan.



John Travolta as John Gotti John Gotti Jr., son of the Teflon Don (a nickname that Gotti received for his elusiveness), who handed over his father's coat, his favorite Brioni ties and Piaget watches for filming. It is difficult to say what kind of watch this is (there is not a single frame in the film that would allow them to be considered).

Bugsy Siegel – Bulova



Benjamin Siegelbaum, a native of a family of Jewish emigrants, entered into history as the man who brought gambling to the desert. The gangster got the nickname "Bugsy" for his explosive nature (derived from the English slang expression "go bugs", which roughly means "go crazy").

Starting out as a bootlegger during Prohibition, Siegel switched to casinos in the 1940s, thinking of opening one in Nevada, where gambling was not illegal. Ironically, it was the gambling business, which was supposed to become completely legal, that caused the death of the bandit. In June 1947, Siegel was assassinated by order of crime bosses who suspected him of embezzling funds allocated for the construction of a casino. Today, the Mob Museum in Las Vegas houses a gold Bulova watch that belonged to Bugsy Siegel.

Charles "Lucky" Luciano – Patek Philippe



Lucky Luciano is called the father of modern US organized crime . Luciano made his first gang while still a teenager. In fact, this native of Sicily devoted his entire life to criminal activity, having managed to try himself in a variety of criminal roles. He was the organizer of the so-called "Big Seven" - a super trust that was engaged in the manufacture, sale and transportation of alcoholic beverages during Prohibition. The first of the representatives of Cosa Nostra went into cooperation with non-Italian representatives of the criminal world, having managed to maintain not only his own authority, but also the integrity and inviolability of the Sicilian mafia. He became the first pimp in New York: Luciano controlled about 200 brothels.

In the mid-1930s, Lucky Luciano was convicted of pimping, but after helping to organize the landing of American troops in Sicily in 1943, he won his release. True, he failed to stay in America: the US authorities deported Luciano to Italy, where he lived safely until 1962.



It is interesting that his nickname "Lucky" Charles Luciano (at the birth of Salvatore Lucania) acquitted twice - at the end of the 20s, when he miraculously survived after a brutal beating, and at the end of his life. In 1962, Luciano was invited to take part in the filming of a film about the mafia, but the former owner of New York did not have a chance to appear on the screen. He died of a heart attack, avoiding the most common fate of crime bosses - murder.



Luciano is recognized as one of the most stylish criminals of all times. The Mafiosi was always dressed with taste, and there was always a watch on his wrist, and always different. According to one version, the Lucky watch collection included Patek Philippe Ref. 1516, associated with the name of another crime boss - Joseph Bonanno. Fans of the mafia saga The Godfather Bonanno are known as the prototype of Don Corleone. In 2009, a diamond-encrusted watch with a yellow gold case was auctioned by Antiquorum, where it found a new owner for a modest $36,000. Although, given the estimated cost of the lot - $ 5,000 - 8,000, the amount ceases to seem modest.

Jiro Yanagawa – Patek Philippe



Jiro Yanagawa comes from a family of Korean emigrants on Wednesday the Japanese yakuza was ordered. The more surprising is his fate. After moving to Osaka, Yanagawa created and headed one of the largest Korean organized crime groups in Japan - the Yanagawa-gumi, which in the 60s of the last century became known as the "killer syndicate".



Yanagawa is one of the repentant criminals. After retiring from the cases associated with the yakuza, the former pimp and killer "retrained" as the Goodwill Ambassador between Korea and Japan. In 2015, the Patek Philippe Nautilus Ref. 3800.



The yellow gold case belonged to Yanagawa, as evidenced by the engraving on the back of the case “Gift to Mr. Yanagawa Gishi” (Gishi is the middle name of Jiro Yanagawa). In addition to diamonds, 3 baguette-cut rubies were used in the decoration of the watch (instead of hour markers). The total weight of the stones is 7.49 carats. The total cost of the watch was HKD 750,000 and $96,000.

Pablo Escobar – Rolex



Another giant of the mafia world, another film which came out this summer. You can write endlessly about the criminal talents of Pablo Escobar. He started by selling tombstones and fake lottery tickets, then switched to stealing and reselling expensive cars, after that he went into drug trafficking and it was in this field that he earned great fame and a lot of money. In the late 80s, Escobar was included in the list of the richest people on the planet: his fortune was estimated at more than $ 3 billion. The Medellin cartel organized by him in just a few years of existence took control of more than 80% of the US cocaine industry. According to rumors, Escobar had so much money that the cartel spent $ 2,500 a month just to buy rubber bands that tied bundles of banknotes. Impressive. As well as the scope of the luxury that the cocaine king liked to surround himself with.



When an auction was organized in Bogota in 2013 selling items confiscated from crime bosses, the collection of accessories with a dark past included an Escobar watch valued at $70,000. Whether potential owners were so frightened by the bloody trail of the crimes of the Colombian drug lord, or the bidders simply found a more interesting investment object for themselves, but the Rolex Day-Date model in yellow gold went under the hammer for more than this modest $8,500. According to some reports, the watch was sent for remelting, which looks doubtful: why pay such money for a piece of metal and a handful of diamonds (even if of the highest quality)?