Today's offering showcases this high-fashion gold tone Gianni Versace watch owned and worn by the Artist Formerly Known as Prince. According to his former wife Mayte Garcia, it was among Prince's personal property left at their Marbelle, Spain mansion. It comes from a collection of his stage clothing, personal attire, and jewelry.

Its case and buckle are done in Egyptian revival style and the black dial prominently features a gold medallion of Medusa.

It comes on its original moderately worn leather strap - this is a watch that has seen many days of wrist time - and is a full sized rectangular watch that would have filled out Prince's small wrist. A handmade hole, presumably done by Prince, has been previously added to the strap to make it accommodate a smaller wrist than the factory holes. If you would like a close-up photo of the band, please inquire.

His Gianni Versace watch remains in very good condition with fairly mild wear.

We have installed a new high-quality battery in it making it ready for immediate enjoyment - other than that we have left it the exact same state we acquired it in.

Included with the purchase is a one-year warranty on the movement and its proper functioning.

It is accompanied by a letter of authenticity signed by Prince's former wife Mayte Garcia and a letter from a prominent offering house.

Don't miss this once in a lifetime opportunity to have an impeccably documented watch personally owned and worn by Prince.

Prince:

Prince is widely regarded as one of the greatest musicians of his generation. A prolific artist, his 39 albums sold over 150 million records worldwide, ranking him among the best-selling music artists of all time.

The Los Angeles Times called Prince "our first post-everything pop star, defying easy categories of race, genre and commercial appeal, " and Randall Roberts called Prince "among the most versatile and restlessly experimental pop artists of our time..."

Rolling Stone ranked Prince at No. 27 on its list of 100 Greatest Artists, "the most influential artists of the rock & roll era". According to Acclaimed Music, he is the 9th most celebrated artist in popular music history. In 2010, Prince was ranked number 7 on VH1's "100 Greatest Artists of All Time".

Pioneer of the Minneapolis sound, his music incorporated a wide variety of styles, including funk, R&B, rock, new wave, soul, synth-pop, pop, jazz, and hip hop. He often played most or all instruments on his recordings.

His sound and style have influenced artists across many genres including Beyoncé, Justin Timberlake, Bruno Mars, Rihanna, Alicia Keys, Usher, Janelle Monáe, The Weeknd, Lady Gaga, Lorde, Lenny Kravitz, André 3000, Mark Speer, Jamie Lidell, Frank Ocean and Beck. Bono of U2 regarded Prince as one of his "favorite composers of the twentieth century". Beyoncé expressed her admiration for Prince in the book Prince: A Private View, calling him "my mentor" and also praising his independence: "He dared to fight for what was rightfully his: his freedom, wrapped up in words and music he created." His fame made him a global figure in popular culture for nearly four decades.

His awards included the Grammy President's Merit Award and six other Grammy awards, the American Music Awards for Achievement and of Merit, the Billboard Icon Award, an Academy Award, and a Golden Globe Award. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004, the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2006, the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame in 2016, and will be inducted into the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame in 2022.

He created many beloved and often chart-topping hits like "The Beautiful Ones", "Raspberry Beret", ""Darling Nikki", "Kiss", "Little Red Corvette", "1999", "Sign o' the Times", "Let's Go Crazy", "When Doves Cry", and "Purple Rain" from iconic best-selling albums like "1999" and "Purple Rain".

Prince and Versace:

Prince had more than a two decade long relationship with Versace both commercial and personal. Prince had a habit of sharing unreleased music with the Versaces until his death, and almost 25 years ago Prince collaborated with Versace on a promotional cassette for Paris Fashion Week.

The musician was gearing up to release his 1995 album The Gold Experience that September, and in the buildup to the release, he gave attendees a taste of what was to come with The VERSACE Experience (PRELUDE 2 GOLD), a cassette containing 15 tracks of then-unreleased Prince material. In 2019 that tape finally became available on streaming platforms including Spotify, Apple Music, and Tidal.

In a 2018 interview for Vogue Donatella said of if Prince: “He didn’t just influence my work, he epitomized what Versace stands for.” The interview can be found here.

Connoisseur of Time Celebrity Collection:

I'm excited to have recently launched a new collection that is composed of 44 watches owned by 26 iconic celebrities. It may be the largest current collection of celebrity-owned watches in the world. It will be constantly changing and is currently headlined by watches and clocks owned by some of the most legendary Hollywood actors and actresses, musicians, comedians, and entertainers:

• The King, Elvis Presley. (Recently sold)
• The King of Pop, Michael Jackson.
• The King of Comedy, Jerry Lewis.
• The Artist Formerly Known as Prince
• Hollywood icons Steve Martin, Burt Reynolds, Olivia Newton-John, Bob Hope, and Mickey Rooney.
• Legendary musicians Johnny Cash, Frank and Nancy Sinatra, Beatles drummer Ringo Starr, and Hank Williams, Jr.

Further filling the current collection are watches from King Edward VIII and the Duchess of Windsor, beloved Hollywood host Ed Sullivan, heavyweight boxing champion Jack Dempsey, Academy award-winning actresses Loretta Young and Doris Day, Emmy award-winning actress Valerie Harper, Phyllis McGuire of the chart-topping McGuire sisters, Elvira Mistress of the Dark (Cassandra Peterson), fashion designer to the stars Nolan Miller, and Green Bay Packer Mike Bucchianeri.

It also includes rare watches given by heads of state: A prototype 18K gold Buren Microrotor gifted by His Royal Majesty Ibn Saud, former King of Saudi Arabia; a Felsa given by former Libyan Colonel and Head of State Muammar Al Qathafi; and a Longines given by Highness Khalifa bin Salman Al-Khalifa former Prime Minister of the State of Bahrain. All three watches are new-old-stock in presentation shadow box frames with photos.

Recently sold was a watch given a handful of years after the Civil War concluded by the Vice President Elect to honor an Army commander who went on to receive the Medal of Honor.

This is a significant, exciting, and constantly changing new collection you won't want to miss! Stay tuned over the coming weeks for photos of other special pieces from the collection!

To view the first few already up for sale follow this link: https://shop.connoisseuroftime.com/collections/our-celebrity-owned-historical-event-watches?page=1&sort_by=created-descending

• Brand: Gianni Versace Signature
• Country of origin: Switzerland
• Model: Medusa, Ref. 7008020
• Year built: 1990's
• Serial no.: 03802
• Functions: Hours, Minutes
• Case material: 18K gold plated
• Case condition: Very good condition with fairly mild scratches and wear
• Dimensions: 25mm diameter (excluding crown) by 44mm long
• Dial: Black with prominent gold Medusa medallion at the centre, unsigned, gold applique Roman indices at six and twelve, mint condition
• Hands: Original, gold faceted "dauphines"
• Movement type: Swiss quartz
• Band: Original, leather, with original buckle and cap on belt end. It is full sized that would have been large on Prince's small wrist. Note that a handmade hole, presumably by Prince, has been previously added to the strap to make it accommodate a smaller wrist than the factory holes. It is very serviceable but has clearly been worn many times. If you would like a close-up photo of the band, please inquire.
• Crystal: Excellent condition
• Servicing: We have installed a new high-quality battery making it ready for immediate enjoyment - other than that we have left it the exact same state that we acquired it in. Your watch is important to us, and we will take care of it for its lifetime. We provide the best after sale care in the business with an experienced team of watchmakers both of whom each have over forty years of experience and a large number of parts.
• Warranty: 1-year international warranty. Please email concierge@cotwatches.com for details.
• Box/Papers: BOX - Connoisseur of Time presentation boxes; PAPERS - A signed letter from Mayte Garcia, Prince's former wife; a Certificate of Authenticity from a major auction house; a Connoisseur of Time Certificate of Authenticity
• Returns: 7 days full refund. 100% satisfaction guarantee

We offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee for all of our watches. If you are in any way unsatisfied with the watch we will fully refund the purchase price anytime within 7 days after the watch has been received. Our goal is to exceed our client's expectations throughout the buying experience.

All watches are packaged carefully and mailed double boxed in specially constructed, reinforced shipping boxes designed for high value items. All watches are sent fully insured with signature required. Most of our domestic shipping is done through FedEx. At times we will also use USPS Express Mail, and we can accommodate most requests for your preferred carrier. International shipments are sent USPS International Express Mail or FedEx.

The purchase price will be the declared value of the merchandise on any required customs forms. The payment of all customs duties, tariffs, and taxes are the responsibility of the buyer.

Also note that water resistance of vintage watches can no longer be guaranteed and is not covered under the watch's warranty. We do not recommend getting a vintage watch wet, even one that was originally designed to be waterproof.

To get an idea of how this watch will look on the wrist, please use the Watch Sizing Guide