Paul Newman's 'Paul Newman' Rolex Daytona - is anyone's wristwatch worth £15 million?
Paul Newman was once the most bankable movie star in the world and at Phillips auction house in New York in October 2017, his 1968 Rolex Daytona sold for $15.5 million. It took just minutes of bidding, before the watch was sold to a bidder on the telephone, setting a new record for the highest price ever achieved for a wristwatch at auction.
What makes this watch so special is that Mr Newman was a keen Rolex owner who wore this watch when racing in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and Daytona races. It is for that reason that this particular dial variant of the Daytona earned the nickname ‘Paul Newman’ by collectors. On the rear of the watch it was engraved with "DRIVE CAREFULLY ME, and was a gift from Newman's wife Joanne Woodward who gave the watch to her husband at the beginning of the 1970s.
In 1984, the watch disappeared. Until it resurfaced in 2017 and was put into auction by James Cox, the former boyfriend of Newman's daughter Nell, whom the actor gave the watch to in 1984. Back then a watch like that was worth about £300 so Nell’s gift to her then boy friend was generous but not excessively so. Today its value at around £15 million certainly is excessive. But is is worth it? I must caveat my points below by saying that this watch was sold to raise money for a charity and charity auctions see high prices reached. But the prices are normally just a bit higher than average value - this watch was an exception to the charity auction rule.
Aurel Bacs, watch specialist of Phillips auction house in New York, who helped me out with auction photographs for my book ‘Vintage Rolex Sports Models’ tried to sum up its importance by saying:
"The watch is probably the most important collector's item of the 20th century for watch lovers. This record result is a testament to the historic importance and continued legacy of this Rolex."
I agree with the sentiment but I would say their are other Rolexes that are much more deserving of that statement. How about the Rolex GMT Master that sits in the Rolex museum in Geneva, on which the critically timed engine burns were measured to enable get Apollo 13 back to earth (and yes, it was a Rolex and not an Omega). What about Chuck Yeagar’s Rolex GMT Master that he wore while breaking the sound barrier or Jaques Cousteau’s 6204 Submariner that he tested as a prototype prior to the launch of the Submariner in 1954. And if you want another example of an individual watch that helped its owner achieve his goals then how about Tenzing Norgay’s Rolex that was the second watch on Everest. I would argue that all of those people and those watches are far more culturally significant - Mr Newman did not win Le Mans or Daytona wearing this watch!
Is anyone’s wristwatch worth £15 million - we have to accept that Mr Newman’s is now - but will it be in the future? Categorically no. Fast forward a hundred years by which time Mr Newman’s relevance will have faded - will this watch be worth £15 million on the strength of being a nice example of a Daytona - the answer has to be no!
