Among luxury watches, Rolex is more than just another name. Rolex watches have been very proudly owned and flaunted by movie stars, sports personas, and a whole host of other celebrities for over a century. One of the most famous watches from the house of Rolex is the Paul Newman “Daytona” Rolex, which was quite recently auctioned off for around $17.75 million. This is in itself a record for the most expensive watch to ever be auctioned.
Paul Newman has often been identified as a celebrity icon who also brought to the spotlight his “Daytona” Rolex, a gift from his wife that he wore from 1972 until he passed away in 2008. An iconic watch indeed.
Paul Newman was a legendary actor who was also regarded very highly as a fashion icon. It was soon after starring as the driver of a sports cars in the film, Winning, that Paul Newman started wearing his now famous “Daytona” Rolex. Until Paul Newman contributed to the skyrocketing popularity of the “Daytona” Rolex, it was just another luxury high-end timepiece. In many ways, it was the Paul Newman association that actually led to the Paul Newman “Daytona” Rolex becoming a much sought after celebrity timepiece. The Paul Newman “Daytona” Rolex is also among the most expensive timepieces of the world. Until then, there were many who believed that it wasn’t worth paying so much simply for a watch with an exotic dial.
While Rolex has manufactured and continues to manufacture its “Daytona” model, the rarest of the Daytona watches are those that have the Paul Newman dial. There are some features that are unique to the Paul Newman dial that are not found in any other Daytona dial.
The font used for the numerals is of an art deco style that was considered exotic as well as stylish; moreover, the small square at the end of each hash is another defining feature of the Paul Newman “Daytona” Rolex.
The stark black and white contrasting design on the dial is one of the first features that sets the Paul Newman “Daytona” Rolex apart from others. The central dial is encircled with an outer track that perfectly matches the sub dial. The 60 seconds counter has gradations for every quarter. The Paul Newman “Daytona” Rolex is further identified by the bright red lettering.
The original Paul Newman “Daytona” Rolex that was auctioned recently had a Ref. 6239 dial and was worn by the icon on a three-piece black fat strap in a military style.
While the exotic dial, the Paul Newman “Daytona” Rolex was undoubtedly given its iconic classification by the legend, Paul Newman in his lifetime. This was also used by several other celebrities who further contributed to the popularity of the Daytona Rolex.
