Rolex from Monroe to JFK sells for $120,000

A watch that Marilyn Monroe reportedly gave to President John F Kennedy as a birthday present has fetched $120,000 at auction.

The gold Rolex is inscribed: “Jack, With love as always from Marilyn May 29th 1962.” Kennedy was born on May 29, 1917.

Bill Panagopulos, founder of the Alexander Autographs auction house in Greenwich, Connecticut, said the buyer was a collector from the US East Coast, but he didn’t release a name.

The watchcase contains a poem, written on a small piece of paper, and entitled “A Heartfelt Plea on Your Birthday”.

The poem reads: “Let lovers breathe their sighs/ And roses bloom and music sound/ Let passion burn on lips and eyes/ And pleasures merry world go round/ Let golden sunshine flood the sky/ And let me love/ Or let me die!”

Monroe performed a sultry rendition of Happy Birthday to You for Kennedy on May 19, 1962, at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

The actress is believed to have given the watch to Kennedy aide Kenneth O’Donnell, who passed it on to the President, Panagopulos said. But when Kennedy saw it, he told O’Donnell to “get rid of it”, according to a note that was sold with the watch.

The watch, which was sold on Saturday, had been expected to sell for between $40,000 and $60,000.

“It’s the hardest thing I ever had to estimate,” Panagopulos said.

“Historic relics, especially when there is a hint of scandal attached, defy any attempt by an auctioneer to estimate their selling price.”