Rolex Daytona "Paul Newman"

A look back at the Rolex Daytona "Paul Newman," a legendary watch named after the famous blue-eyed actor. We'll explore the model's history, its features, and its various versions. The Rolex Cosmograph Daytona is a chronograph watch designed to meet the needs of racing drivers thanks to its chronograph and tachymeter. The name Daytona comes from the famous Daytona 500 NASCAR race in Florida. The first Cosmograph was released in 1963, with the reference number 6239.

As this vintage advertisement shows, reference 6239 was originally called "Le Mans", an allusion to the famous French motor racing circuit.

This is the same model that Joanne Woodward gave to her husband Paul, but with a different dial—an option that cost $3 at the time. Just before giving him this famous watch, Joanne had the words "Drive carefully me" engraved on the back.

In nine years, 14,000 Rolex ref. 6239 watches were produced, of which only 420 were made of gold. This contributes to the watch's rarity, not to mention the fact that it's the exact model Paul Newman wore.

Indeed, here's an example: the two watches below are 6239s produced in 1967, one sold for $30,000 in 2013, while the other fetched nearly $100,000. The difference? The dial. This is what makes the Paul Newman special, a dial described as "exotic," prized by collectors.

Inside this watch is a mechanical caliber, the Valjoux 72B. It equipped the Rolex Daytona from 1963 to 1965. It is a 30mm movement, with a frequency of 18,000 oscillations per hour, equipped with a chronograph system and a Kif Flector shock-absorbing system.

In 1984, Paul Newman gave his first Rolex Daytona to James Cox, his daughter's boyfriend. It was a generous reward for repairing the shed at the Newman family home in Westport. In 2017, Cox put the watch up for auction, and Phillips organized the sale on October 26th.

Bidding started at $1 million, but when it came time to pay the commission, a bid of $10 million was announced. The legendary watch was ultimately sold for $17,752,500, becoming the most expensive wristwatch ever sold. But what about the variations of this watch? Today, it's one of the most difficult watches to collect, as there are numerous references, and prices vary enormously on the pre-owned market. Here is the Rolex catalog from that era:

On the early versions, the outer track printed in red and the "Daytona" text at 6 o'clock were not present. On the right, you can see the last version owned by Paul Newman, the 6263 Oyster.

Paul Newman shoes are classified according to the reference numbers 6239, 6241, 6262, 6263, 6264, or 6265. Among these references, some original models were produced, including the "Tiffany" version, the "Pan Am" version, and the "Linz" version.

In parallel, some models were produced in collaboration with Jean Singer & Cie, a Swiss dial manufacturer. In 2000, Rolex acquired Beyeler & Cie and began manufacturing all its dials in-house. Here are some Rolex watches with Singer dials:

Since then, Rolex has inspired dozens of manufacturers with the "Paul Newman" design, often copied but never equaled. The renowned Lebanese collector Claude Sfeir, a jeweler and gemologist by trade, owns several Rolex Paul Newman watches, including a 6263 "Oyster Sotto".