This November, Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo will celebrate a decade of watch auctions with the Decade One (2015-2025) thematic sale at the Hôtel Président in Geneva. This landmark sale marks the successful first 10 years of the Phillips Watches department, reflecting on the remarkable watches, record-breaking results, and new scholarship that have shaped Phillips Watches since its inaugural auction in 2015.
– By Logan Baker
When Rolex introduced the Ref. 6239 in 1963, it had no idea the model would grow into the most coveted sports chronograph of all time. The Cosmograph Daytona was conceived for racing drivers – robust, legible, and mechanical to the core. Yet among the thousands of examples that roared out of Geneva through the 1960s, a few rare outliers stand out.
One of those is the watch now nicknamed The Golden Pagoda – a breathtaking 18k yellow gold Ref. 6239 fitted with a champagne “Paul Newman” dial. It stands among the rarest, best-preserved, and most glamorous variants of the Daytona ever made.
The numbers alone tell the story. Out of an estimated 14,000 Ref. 6239 Daytonas produced between 1963 and 1969, only about 300 were cased in yellow gold. In other words, for about every 45 steel Daytonas, there was just one in gold.
At the time, few buyers associated the Daytona with precious metals. Rolex’s customers for gold watches tended to favor dressier models, such as the Day-Date. The Cosmograph was a tool – its tachymeter scale engraved on the bezel, its pump pushers unapologetically functional.
The Golden Pagoda features what collectors call a “champagne Paul Newman” dial – a configuration that brings warmth and opulence to one of the most recognizable designs in vintage watchmaking. The off-white, eggshell tone of most Paul Newman dials gives way here to a rich champagne finish, its three recessed registers detailed with gold graphics.
This combination was among the most luxurious options available in the late 1960s. Compared to its steel siblings, the dial of this watch almost seems to glow, catching light with a subtle depth that the standard dials lack. The larger, slightly slanted “T Swiss T” signature below six o’clock is correct for the watch’s 1.7 million serial range, and every luminous dot remains intact – round, creamy, and perfectly aligned.
Over half a century later, the surface has aged with extraordinary grace. The champagne tone remains bright, the printing razor-sharp. The effect is seductive and immediate: this is a Paul Newman dial that feels alive.
Condition defines value in vintage Rolex collecting, and this watch delivers on every front. The case retains its original geometry – the sweeping curves of the lugs, the crisp bevels, and the unidirectional satin finish across the tops of the lugs. The slightest polish would have softened the edges or blurred the crisp lug profiles. Even the caseback still bears its original Rolex sticker, and the interior shows no service marks whatsoever.
Beyond its physical perfection, this watch carries historical weight. It last appeared publicly at Phillips’ landmark Daytona Ultimatum sale in Geneva on 12 May 2018, one of the most important thematic auctions ever dedicated to Rolex chronographs. That sale redefined the Daytona market and elevated the Ref. 6239 to the status of a cultural icon.
Entered with an estimate of CHF 300,000 – 600,000, it sold for CHF 948,500. That means it more than tripled its low estimate. To put that in perspective, other headline lots at Daytona Ultimatum included the iconic Rolex Ref. 6265 “The Unicorn” (estimate in excess of CHF 3 million, sold for CHF 5.94 million) and the ultra-rare Rolex Ref. 6240 “The Neanderthal” (estimate in excess of CHF 2.5 million, sold for CHF 3.01 million). In that company, the Golden Pagoda not only held its own but also delivered exceptional value, demonstrating collector demand for condition and rarity.
Its reappearance now, as part of the Phillips Decade One (2015-2025) 10th anniversary auction in Geneva, is cause for celebration – a reminder of why the Paul Newman remains the ultimate intersection of design, rarity, and mythology in vintage Rolex collecting.
To encounter any Ref. 6239 in yellow gold is rare. To find one with a champagne “Paul Newman” dial is exceptional. But to hold one preserved in this condition – untouched, unpolished, with a dial this immaculate – verges on the unbelievable.
You can view the complete Phillips Decade One (2015-2025) auction catalogue here.