Comedian Nate Bargatze appeared on “The Tonight Show” this week and showed off his new watch to host Jimmy Fallon.
Bargatze told Fallon of the Cartier Tank, “It’s Darth Vader’s watch.”
“Like Darth Vader from the movie ‘Star Wars’?” Fallon asked.
Bargatze explained that it wasn’t James Earl Jones, who famously voiced the character. Instead it belonged to David Prowse, who was the man physically in the Darth Vader suit during filming.
The watch was sold in 2024 at Sotheby’s for around $20,000.
In the lot description, the auction house provides even more provenance, citing Prowse’s autobiography, which references the watch, and says it was gifted to him by Prince Khalid of Saudi Arabia.
It may seem bizarre that Prowse and the Crown Prince would have a connection, but in a 2011 interview, Prowse, who was a champion weightlifter, said he was training the Prince at the same time that he was training Christopher Reeve for his role in Superman.
Prowse famously believed he would be the voice of Vader until finding out they were dubbing his lines with Jones.
Will Stern is a reporter and editor for cllct, the premier company for collectible culture.