Marilyn Monroe’s Watch: The Mystery Behind The Icon’s Blancpain Timepiece

From October 31st until November 23rd at Blancpain's Fifth Avenue Boutique, you’ll see Marilyn Monroe’s watch on display for the first time ever. For the occasion, the Fifth Avenue boutique is decorated with red roses and vintage ladies’ timepieces on loan from Blancpain’s museum. It’s the ideal exhibition for Art Deco lovers.
 

The Blancpain team put together a beautiful tribute to Marilyn with displays of the star’s personal items, iconic dresses, and movie accessories. But maybe the most striking homage was the presence of Lawrence Schiller, the photographer, and friend of the Hollywood star. Lawrence took some of the most iconic pictures of the sex-symbol when he was in his 20s, including the famous shot of Marilyn leaving a pool topless.
 

During the exhibition, Marilyn's priceless Blancpain is surrounded by the brand's current feminine watch collection, which is comprised of beautiful pieces and haute joaillerie watches which would make even Marilyn swoon. Blancpain's Marilyn Monroe showcase is the perfect occasion to wander and discover (or re-discover) what the brand has to offer in the often overlooked segment of mechanical ladies’ watches.
 

Marilyn became, and still is, an icon of fashion, grace, and elegance. But before that, she started her career working in a factory during World War II. That is where she met a photographer from the U.S. Army Air Forces’ First Motion Picture Unit and began her pin-up modeling career.
 

After being discovered by movie producers from Twentieth Century Fox and Columbia Pictures, she landed a couple of small roles and started becoming popular in the early 1950s. It wasn’t until her roles in “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” and “Niagara” that Marilyn became the sex-symbol she is known as today. However, upon noticing that her male counterparts were paid way more than she was and the production studios not being keen on changing her contract, she decided to create her own production company.
 

During her career, she acted alongside many notable figures. She became good friends with the Rat Pack, including Frank Sinatra, who she was rumored to have dated. Rumor persists that she often stayed at his house to avoid the photographers and be at peace. Among her notable “friends” was John F. Kennedy, for whom, three months before her tragic death, she sang her iconic (and controversial) “Happy Birthday Mister President.”