Five Rolex Daytonas sold for more than one million Swiss francs at this week’s international auction held by Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo.
The sale, promoted as the Daytona Ultimatum, brought in CHF 22.2 million (£16.3m) for the 32 Daytona timepieces in the auction.
The top lot of the sale, a 1970 model believed to be the only vintage white gold Rolex Cosmograph Daytona reference 6265 ever made, sold for CHF 5.93 million (£4.36m). A proportion of the sale price is being donated to Children Action, and will be one of the largest charitable contributions ever in the field of watches.
Aurel Bacs, senior consultant of Bacs & Russo, said: “The record-breaking sale results of Daytona Ultimatum reflected the collector community’s desire for highest quality property and the importance of the Rolex Daytona in the field of collector’s wristwatches. It’s been a tremendous honour offering ‘The Unicorn’ on behalf of John Goldberger, that achieved one of the largest charitable contributions ever in our industry. After the Joanne Woodward / Paul Newman Daytona we sold last season, it achieved the second highest price ever for a Rolex wristwatch. We are thrilled for this historic result and philanthropic gesture, and delighted by the lasting benefits the sale of this watch will provide to so many children.”
