Paul Newman's Daytona Rolex watch—one of the most sought-after timepieces in the world among horologists—was sold at auction on Thursday for $17.8 million.
The New York City auction house, Phillips Auction, sold the watch, which was given to Paul Newman by his wife, Joanne Woodward, in 1968 during the filming of the race-car driving movie “Winning.” The back is inscribed with "Drive Carefully, Me."
'The price paid by an anonymous buyer set the record for any wristwatch sold at auction anywhere in the world.
The owner of the watch was a former boyfriend of Newman's daughter, Nell Newman. The famous actor gave him the watch as a gift in 1984.
Several factors led to the recording-breaking price for a watch, including the fact that the sale was announced in June and was highly anticipated by collectors, which drove the price up.
But Paul Newman also holds a special place in many people’s hearts as an actor and all-round person, said David Lehn, a partner at the law firm of Withers Bergman, which specializes in representing high-net-worth clients.
Paul Newman's #Rolex Daytona sold for $17,752,500. The most expensive wristwatch sold at an auction. Also the most expensive watch Ever pic.twitter.com/CxnmfqJDqR
— Arpit Rathi (@Arpit_Rathi) October 26, 2017
“”Besides being an actor and being married so long to the same person, he was a competitive race car driver, a philanthropist and had many other facets to his life” that made the watch more valuable, Lehn said. “He was also involved in the local community in Westport, Conn., and in the local theater, Westport Playhouse.”
The auction house put the watch's value at $1 million, but that mark was shattered shortly after they started taking bids, when a bidder opened with a $10 million offer.
“Following a 12-minute bidding war that opened at $10 million, the watch sold to a bidder on the phone. Watch enthusiasts from around the world followed this historic moment online, over the phone and in a packed salesroom of more than 700 people,” the auction house said.
Phillips described the atmosphere as electric through the sale of the Paul Newman watch and 49 other iconic watches from the 20th century, including rare and important models from Omega, Heuer, Audemar’s Piguet, Cartier and other leading watchmakers.
The Paul Newman watch is described as an “understated piece with an exotic dial. Crafted in stainless steel, it features a cream-colored dial with black subdials and the word ‘Daytona’ written in red. Its three colors make it unusual.”
Phillips, in association with Bacs & Russo, which is the watch department at Phillips auction house, in the past, sold a Patek Philippe stainless steel watch last November for $11 million and a Rolex “Bao Dai” for $5 million, which until Thursday was the highest sale price for any Rolex.
The house has two more watch sales, one in Hong Kong and one in Geneva, in November.
