The day is finally here, we’re live from Phillips’ inaugural New York City watch auction dubbed WINNING ICONS: Legendary Icons of the 20th Century. Of course, the highlight of the evening was Paul Newman’s “Paul Newman” Daytona ref. 6239. The pre-sale estimate was in excess of $1 Million, but the winner is taking the Paul Newman Daytona home for $17,752,500 (including buyer’s premium)…WOW.
Watch the Paul Newman Rolex Daytona Auction Unfold in Entirety from My Seat at the Highly Exclusive Event
And apologies in advance for the vertical video; I was recording live for our Instagram followers – make sure you follow Bob’s Watches on Instagram to be alerted on future special events like this!
If you’re interested, you can learn more about the history and prices of the infamous Paul Newman Rolex Daytona’s here. But let’s not forget that there were 49 other spectacular watches up for grabs worthy of the label icon. You can view the entire WINNING ICONS catalog here. Below are a few Rolex and Patek Philippe watches I tried on during public viewing.
Lot 42: Rolex Sea-Dweller Ref. 1665 “Patent Pending”
Earlier this year, Rolex made big news at Baselworld with the new Sea-Dweller to mark the model’s 60th anniversary. And right here we have that inaugural model, the Sea-Dweller ref. 1665 with the MK1 dial. Not only does this beauty have the sought-after two lines of red text, this Double Red Sea-Dweller also boasts the “Patent Pending Rolex Oyster Gas Escape Valve” engraving on the case back in reference to the Rolex invention found on this professional diving watch.
Lot 22: Patek Philippe Calatrava Ref. 570
Patek Philippe introduced the Calatrava in 1932 and this time-only timepiece continues to be the brand’s signature dress watch even today. This particular Calatrava Ref. 570 dates back to 1969 and sports an 18k white gold case measuring 36mm—much larger than the original 30mm. Particularly striking on this Patek ref. 570 is the ultra-rare pink dial housing the mix of Arabic numerals and tapered indexes.
Lot 28: Patek Philippe Perpetual Calendar Ref. 2499
In 1941, Patek Philippe unveiled the world’s first series-produced perpetual calendar chronograph wristwatch—the Perpetual Calendar ref. 1518. This set the tone for Patek Philippe’s relationship with high-complication wristwatches and the undisputable leader in perpetual calendar chronographs in particular. This Patek Philippe Perpetual Calendar Chronograph ref. 2499 with a larger 37.5mm case is the second generation of the model. Produced between 1951 and 1985, approximately only 349 examples were ever made.
