An anonymous phone-bidder landed the holy grail at Phillips' 'Legendary Watches of the 20th Century auction' in New York on Thursday, by securing Paul Newman's Rolex Daytona for a record-shattering $17,752,500 - the highest price ever paid for a wristwatch at auction.
Arguably the most important model Rolex has ever produced, the Daytona is renowned for the purity of its design and the tell-tale particulars that set one iteration apart from another – which often driving collectors into a frenzy when bidding for important examples.
But none is more important than the one worn by the man who lent his name to the model, Newman's own Reference 6239, which features a cream dial and a personal inscription on the case back from his wife, Joanne Woodward – 'Drive Carefully Me' – reflecting the actor's passion for motor racing, the discipline for which the sports chronograph was originally conceived.
In 1984 Newman gifted the watch to a boyfriend of their daughter, Nell, and the lucky man apparently wore it every day until the early Nineties, when its significance - and thus value – became apparent. Unsurprisingly, it broke the world-record price for a watch at auction after just 12 minutes of animated bidding.
The sale, conducted by Phillips' senior consultant Aurel Bacs, achieved two more important milestones in the watch world: a world-record price for a Rolex Submariner Ref: 6200 ($579,000) and the highest yet achieved for an Audemars Piguet Ref: 5516 perpetual Caldnear ($675,000).
The 2018 edition of GQWatch & Jewellery is available now with the November issue of GQ.
