Rolex cosmograph

Paul Newman Daytona breaks house record at auction

Auction house Watches of Knightsbridge achieved a house record when it sold a Rolex Cosmograph Daytona Paul Newman for £76,600 last month.

The watch, ref. 6262, was consigned by its original owner and had been presented as a wedding gift from his wife’s family in 1975.

The original receipt from Watches of Switzerland Southampton was included, showing a purchase price of £134. Adjusted for inflation from 1976 prices, the historic retail price would still be less than £1,000 today.

The couple recently sent the watch back to Rolex for a service and the local retailer informed them of the model’s current popularity among collectors.

Watches of Knightsbridge valued the watch at between £30,000-£40,000 but interest at the September 20th auction was considerable, both in-room and online, resulting in a final price of £76,600 (including 21.6% buyer’s premium).

The Paul Newman Daytonas differ from standard Rolex Cosmograph Daytonas only in the dial. Small numbers of ‘exotic’ Daytona dials were produced over a number of years for Rolex by Singer. The chronograph register numerals are represented with an Art Deco font instead of the standard sans serif font.

James Buttery

Editor of WatchPro, the WatchPro Hot 100 and The Luxury Report.

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