Rolex - Phillips & Blackbird: SPORTS Hong Kong Sunday, May 26, 2019 | Phillips

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  • Manufacturer: Rolex
    Year: Circa 1968
    Reference No: 6241
    Case No: 1’947’419
    Model Name: Cosmograph Daytona, "Paul Newman"
    Material: 18K yellow gold
    Calibre: Manual, cal. 722-1, 17 jewels
    Bracelet/Strap: 18K yellow gold Rolex bracelet, endlinks stamped 57, max length 200 mm
    Clasp/Buckle: 18K yellow gold Rolex deployant clasp
    Dimensions: 36.5 mm diameter
    Signed: Case, dial, movement and bracelet signed
    Accessories: With a Rolex presentation box
    Literature: For a similar example, please see Pucci Papaleo, Ultimate Rolex Daytona Editions, pp. 252 - 255

  • Catalogue Essay

    Exquisite, exemplary and extraordinary, it would not be an overstatement to call the present timepiece a fine artwork for the wrist. The present watch is particularly desirable with a gorgeous champagne-colored dial and 18K yellow gold case, conferring a perfectly luxurious flair onto the watch. Donning an awe-inspiring “Paul Newman” champagne dial with gold indexes inside the sunken subsidiary registers, this timepiece is one of the most majestic iterations of the vintage Daytona line. “Paul Newman” dials are highly prized among connoisseurs today, making this execution an incredibly rare masterpiece from the 1960s.

    The ref. 6241 was the first Cosmograph Daytona reference featuring with black acrylic bezel ever commercialized by Rolex, and was above all a rare series within the Daytona family. Our research suggests that about 2000 examples were made in stainless steel, 300 in 18K yellow gold and 400 in 14K gold during the production run from 1966 to 1969. The reference 6241 was also the first reference to include the wording “Daytona” on the dial.

    Created over half a century ago, the present watch is still extremely beautiful with its wondrous state of preservation. The case and the dial are crisp and well defined, with very light traces of gentle wear seen on the original satin surfaces. This grand Paul Newman Daytona is by all means a trophy watch that would please even the most discerning Daytona collectors.

  • Artist Biography

    Rolex

    Swiss • 1905

    Founded in 1905 England by Hans Wilsdorf and Alfred Davis as Wilsdorf & Davis, it soon became known as the Rolex Watch Company in 1915, moving its headquarters to Geneva in 1919. Like no other company, the success of the wristwatch can be attributed to many of Rolex's innovations that made them one of the most respected and well-known of all luxury brands. These innovations include their famous "Oyster" case — the world's first water resistant and dustproof watch case, invented in 1926 — and their "Perpetual" — the first reliable self-winding movement for wristwatches launched in 1933. They would form the foundation for Rolex's Datejust and Day-Date, respectively introduced in 1945 and 1956, but also importantly for their sports watches, such as the Explorer, Submariner and GMT-Master launched in the mid-1950s.

    One of its most famous models is the Cosmograph Daytona. Launched in 1963, these chronographs are without any doubt amongst the most iconic and coveted of all collectible wristwatches. Other key collectible models include their most complicated vintage watches, including references 8171 and 6062 with triple calendar and moon phase, "Jean Claude Killy" triple date chronograph models and the Submariner, including early "big-crown" models and military-issued variants.

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857

Ref. 6241
An extremely rare, beautiful and well-preserved yellow gold chronograph wristwatch with champagne “Paul Newman” dial, bracelet and box

Circa 1968
36.5 mm diameter
Case, dial, movement and bracelet signed

Estimate
HK$2,100,000 - 4,000,000 
€242,000-461,000
$270,000-500,000

Sold for HK$3,870,000

Contact Specialist

Thomas Perazzi
Head of Watches, Asia
thomasperazzi@phillips.com
+852 2318 2001
 

Phillips & Blackbird: SPORTS

Hong Kong Auction 27 May 2019