Rolex ”Paul Newman” Daytona

“We have never had this model up for auction here at Bruun Rasmussen, so it is definitely a highlight of the wristwatch auction. The word “icon” is an overused term in watchmaking, but it is fair to say that there is a select breed of wristwatches so unique that the expression is fitting. The “Paul Newman” Daytona would be the crown jewel in any watch connoisseur’s collection, and the extraordinary Daytona Cosmograph Ref. 6241 offered at our next international auction is second only to Paul Newman’s own example of the watch,” says Casper Behrendtzen, Head of Wristwatches at Bruun Rasmussen. 

The Man and the Watch

Back in 1962, Rolex became the official timekeeper of the famous Daytona racecourse in Florida. A year later the company launched the Cosmograph Ref. 6239, which was nicknamed the “Daytona”. The watch featured a tachymeter scale on the bezel and was developed specifically to fit the needs of race car drivers. 

Paul Newman was a celebrated actor but also an avid motorsports enthusiast, a political activist and a generous philanthropist, and he began wearing a variety of the Rolex Daytona in 1972. Interestingly, the “exotic dial”, or “Paul Newman”, Daytona variations, like this Ref. 6241, were hugely unpopular at the time, so much so that Rolex could not give them away. However, as legend has it, the moment Newman was captured on the cover of an Italian magazine sporting the timepiece, it gained in popularity at an amazing velocity. 

Design and Price Development 

Though there are many variations of the Daytona, a “Paul Newman” Daytona comes in one of four dial combinations, the Ref. 6239, 6241, 6263, 6264 and 6265. The Ref. 6241 offered here is equipped with a calibre 722 movement and a white dial with black sub-registers. It is also the first model where the word “Daytona” appears on the dial. As a result, the Ref. 6241 is highly sought-after by collectors. 

It is incredible that a watch which began life costing approximately USD 1,500 in the late 1980s went on to become a USD 10,000 watch in the early 1990s, and then a triple-digit watch in the early 2000s. The most expensive Rolex Daytona ever sold (aside from THE Paul Newman Daytona), a Ref. 6263, is one of only three known yellow gold Oyster Paul Newman Daytonas with a lemon green dial, and it ended up making USD 3.7 million in May 2017.

Exhibition in London

The wristwatch will also be exhibited at the Danish Embassy, 55 Sloane Street in London on 15-16 May. In connection with the exhibitions, it will be possible to meet our Head of Wristwatches, Casper Behrendtzen, who will be available to discuss the wristwatches in more detail. Read more about the exhibition here

Auction: 31 May 6 pm at Bredgade 33 in Copenhagen

Preview: 24-28 May at the same address

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