[Special Geneva Watch Week 2023] Rolex Daytona: the watch sold for nearly $18 million

The Watches & Wonders Fair is back this year from March 27 to April 2 in Geneva and Luxus+, a partner of this event, is celebrating with a special series ahead of the event to keep you waiting… Reports, meetings, “coup de coeur”, practical information and gift ideas, will be available now while waiting to meet you in Geneva or for the preview launch of our special Watch issue!

 

On October 26, 2017, the Rolex Daytona that belonged to Paul Newman was sold for $17.8 million at an auction by Phillips Auction House in New York. A historic record.

 

Attracting more than 700 people, the sale was conducted by telephone with its new owner, whose identity was not revealed.

 

This famous Daytona is still the most expensive Rolex in the world, ranked in the top 10 most expensive watches in history. Although it is in impeccable condition, its value is largely due to its origin. The watch was, in fact, owned by actor Paul Newman, a sex symbol and ideal of masculinity. The actor, who died in 2008 of lung cancer, became a Hollywood icon thanks to such legendary films as Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958), The Sting (1973), Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), and The Towering Inferno (1974).

 

The Rolex Cosmograph Daytona model reference 6239-14 was produced between 1963 and 1969. Little known at the time, it gained popularity in 1980 and was notably christened by collectors “Paul Newman Daytona.” The actor wore this model not only in private but also during car races and in some of his films. The watch was given to him by his wife Joanne Woodward: it was engraved with the words “DRIVE CAREFULLY, ME”!

 

Read also > The Swiss city of Bulle sells land to Rolex

 

Featured photo : © Press

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Thanks to its extensive knowledge of these sectors, the Luxus + editorial team deciphers for its readers the main economic and technological stakes in fashion, watchmaking, jewelry, gastronomy, perfumes and cosmetics, hotels, and prestigious real estate.

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