Acclaimed Musician Harry Belafonte’s Wyler Watch Surfaces In The US

Harry Belafonte is a hero to many, including Fratello reader Billy Denty. This is for good reason. A successful musician who sold more than 3,000,000 albums, he was also a man of immense social conscience. He led a remarkable life, and today, thanks to one Fratello reader, we get to see Belafonte’s Wyler watch up close.

You have probably heard of Harry Belafonte’s work, even if you’re unfamiliar with his name. Born in 1927, Belafonte started his career in music as a club singer in New York to pay for his acting classes. He’d been inspired to take up acting when, working as a janitor’s assistant, he received two tickets to the American Negro Theatre. Belafonte fell in love with the art form of acting and became friends with Sidney Poitier. The pair was struggling financially, so they would buy a single seat to local plays, trading spots between acts after giving each other the first half of the plot of the play they were seeing.

The inspiring life of Harry Belafonte

At the end of the 1940s, Belafonte took classes in acting at the Dramatic Workshop of The New School in New York City alongside the likes of fellow actors Marlon Brando, Tony Curtis, and Poitier. Belafonte would go on to win a Tony Award for his participation in the Broadway piece John Murray Anderson’s Almanac (1954).

By 1954, Belafonte had already been working as a club singer to help pay for his acting career. The first time he appeared in front of an audience, he was backed by none other than the Charlie Parker band, which included jazz legends Charlie Parker, Max Roach, and Miles Davis.

Early music successes

Belafonte’s first widely released single, which went on to become his signature audience-participation song, was “Matilda.” It was recorded in 1953. Around this time, Belafonte starred in the film Carmen Jones (1954). But it was his breakthrough album, Calypso (1956), that would go on to have the widest commercial success.

Calypso became the first LP in the world to sell more than 1,000,000 copies in a year. The album spent 31 weeks at number one, 58 weeks in the top 10 in the UK, and 99 weeks on the US charts. It also introduced audiences around the world to calypso music (hence the name of the album), which traces its origins to the Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago in the early 1800s. Belafonte’s success in this field popularized Caribbean music worldwide through hits like “Day-O” (also known as the “Banana Boat Song”) and “Jump in the Line.”

How one Fratello reader came across Harry Belafonte’s Wyler watch

Watch enthusiast Billy Denty is a huge fan of Harry Belafonte’s work. In fact, he grew up to the tunes of Calypso as well as several other Belafonte albums. “Harry Belafonte’s music has always had a special place in my life. I can still picture those summer afternoons — my family and I by the pool, his voice carrying through the air, filling the yard with rhythm and warmth. Those songs became the soundtrack of my childhood,” he said.

So when an opportunity to purchase a watch owned by the musician reared its head one day, Denty jumped at the chance. “I came across this watch at an auction. I am a huge fan of Harry’s music. Harry was the soundtrack of my childhood summers, and I was looking to buy my father something. I bought this watch as a sort of memento — a small but meaningful reminder of those good times and a symbol of the love and laughter I shared with my parents while growing up. Now, as the years pass and life moves faster, I find myself reminiscing more often. There are days when I wish I could rewind time, go back to those carefree moments when the future felt wide open and anything seemed possible.”

Dr. Martin Luther King, his wife Coretta Scott King (right), and Harry Belafonte (center) marching near Montgomery, Alabama, on March 24th, 1965 — Image: Associated Press

A difficult time for the United States

Belafonte’s long life crisscrossed over many aspects of US history, not least of which was the tumultuous push and fierce fight for civil rights. Belafonte would become a confidant of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and he played a role in helping fund and support the civil rights movement, including the 1963 March on Washington. Blacklisted during the reactionary McCarthy era and the 1963 Birmingham campaign, Belafonte bailed King out of the Birmingham jail in Alabama and raised $50,000 to release other civil rights protesters. This was a natural but brave step for Belafonte to take. He had been one of the first black leading men in Hollywood.

Belafonte would later become a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, championing global humanitarian causes. This included famine relief across the world and fighting apartheid in South Africa. In 2022, he received the US Presidential Medal of Freedom.

A watch collector’s journey

Belafonte had already made a huge impact on Fratello reader Billy Denty when he came across the Wyler watch at auction. But Denty’s journey as a watch enthusiast began when he was just 12 years old. “It started with my grandfather’s Omega. As someone with severe ADHD, I was constantly getting kicked out of class for my disruptions. I used my grandfather’s watch to calm myself down and count the seconds. One of my teachers mentioned that Omega was an expensive watch, and I should do some research… Then, boom, like a spark, the watch obsession hit me,” he said.

“Lately, I’ve been sticking with a smaller, more meaningful collection — my first Rolex, my grandfather’s Omega, and a few other memory-filled watches.”

Appreciating a vintage Wyler watch

Putting aside the fact that this is Harry Belafonte’s Wyler watch, Denty also appreciates it as a piece of design. “I like the date window, which I believe to be custom since I haven’t found another Incaflex with that date window. The dial’s diamond pattern makes it catch the light, and the gold markers pop. I enjoy the fact that the original strap is so worn, meaning he got a lot of use out of this watch. His design elements were classy but not bodacious,” he said. The watch, indeed, is relatively humble in the best possible way.

The case back has the words “Harry Belafonte from Vic Wyler” as well as the date “1-3-62.” Vic Wyler was, at the time, the head of the Wyler watch company. The date is Belafonte’s birthday, so it seems natural to suppose that the watch was a gift from Wyler to Belafonte for his birthday in 1962.

The Wyler Watch Co.

Admittedly, Wyler is a watch brand I knew little about before this feature. Paul and Victor Wyler founded the Paul Wyler & Cie watchmaking factory in Basel in 1924. Three years later, Wyler patented a flexible balance capable of absorbing shocks, the Incaflex. In 1931, to prove the effectiveness of its anti-shock system, a Wyler watch was thrown from the top of the Eiffel Tower. Apparently, the watch continued to run normally.

There is much more to Wyler, and you can read about it here. According to the original auction listing, the watch has a 31mm 10K-gold-filled case. The hands and hour markers are also gold.

A chance encounter with the man himself

Before owning the Wyler watch, it turns out that Denty met Belafonte once. “I met Harry years ago at a college event,” he said. “He wrote a book about civil rights, and we had an assembly about it. After the speech, I approached him while he was talking to some faculty. I told him I was a huge fan, and jokingly, in a raspy voice, he said, ‘Oh, yeah? Name two songs,’ so I did, and he replied, ‘Man, you might be the youngest person in here who knows who I am.’ It was a cool moment for me. 

Denty only knew of Belafonte through his music before buying the Wyler watch. This quickly changed after he acquired it. “To be honest, besides his music, I didn’t know much about Harry’s accomplishments before owning this watch. This man accomplished so much in his lifetime. I even learned that we shared the same favorite snack — Ritz crackers and cream cheese. The man was a legend. What’s cool to me is that the watch witnessed a lot of it. If it could tell a story, it would sing a song! And the fact that I can be a part of this journey and write the next chapter for this watch (it probably won’t be as interesting) is an incredible privilege.”

Concluding thoughts

Belafonte passed away on April 25th, 2023, at the grand age of 96. He was truly someone whose accomplishments are too long to list here, and his commitment to civil rights was steadfast to the end.

It’s wonderful to be able to share these stories with you, our readers, and to celebrate the life of a man who worked tirelessly to improve the lives of others, all while wearing a cool Wyler watch on his wrist.