GENEVA.- An extraordinarily rare Rolex Daytona ‘Paul Newman’ wristwatch, reference 6239, made in 1969, with highly-coveted ‘tropical’ subsidiary dials was the star of Sotheby’s spring sale of Important Watches in Geneva today. This colour-change effect is one of the most coveted features on today’s auction market. The iconic wristwatch eclipsed the pre-sale estimate to sell for CHF 951,000 / 947,776 (estimate CHF 200,000 – 400,000 / $208,000-416,000). The more than 1000 registrants participating in today’s sale drove the total to CHF 6,588,500 ($6,566,165), an increase of over 26% compared with our sale of Important Watches in November last year.

Sam Hines, Worldwide Head of Sotheby’s Watch Division, commented, “Today we saw sustained demand throughout the auction, in particular for the highest quality vintage watches by Rolex and Patek Philippe, as evidenced by a fantastic price for the Rolex Paul Newman Daytona with ‘toffee’ registers. We were also very pleased to see strong prices for rare contemporary watches. This sale in Geneva confirms the global interest we saw in Hong Kong and London, and we look forward to our sale of Important Watches in New York on 24 May.”

Rolex Daytona ‘Paul Newman’ Wristwatch with Rare ‘Tropical’ Subsidiary Dials
Two telephone bidders battled in the sale room for a highly rare Rolex ‘Paul Newman’ Daytona wristwatch, in stainless steel, with rare ‘toffee’ registers. The watch was sold – to applause in the room - for CHF 951,000 / $ 947,776 (Lot 276, estimate CHF 200,000 – 400,000 / $208,000 - 416,000). Rolex’s ‘Paul Newman’ Daytonas are widely recognized as the most highly coveted vintage Rolex models on the market. The colour of this watch’s three subsidiary dials – originally black when the watch was made – has naturally faded to a beautiful rich toffee brown.

Combining watchmaking prowess with the savoir-faire of high jewellery, two watches signed by prestigious jewellery houses achieved among the highest prices in today’s auction:

· A Superb Diamond-Set Skeletonised Tourbillon Wristwatch by Graff, made in 2013 and adorned with 188 diamonds sold for CHF 555,000 / $ 553,119 (lot 63, estimate CHF 150,000 – 250,000 / $156,000 – 260,000). This watch is distinguished by its stunning fully skeletonised dial. The complete set by Graff includes a diamond ring, platinum and diamond cufflinks and pen.

· A Rare Tourbillon Wristwatch in Rose Gold by Chopard, 2017 was sold for CHF 160,000 / $159,458 (lot 245, estimate CHF 80,000 – 120,000 / $83,500 – 125,000). The manual winding wristwatch with perpetual calendar was part of a complete set including a diamond ring, diamond and onyx cufflinks and a pen.

Two rare pocket watches also stood out among the most highly-prized lots on offer today:

· An Open-Faced Perpetual Calendar Pocket Watch with Moon-Phases by Patek Philippe produced in 1947 sold for CHF 157,500 / $ 156,966 (lot 140, estimate CHF 120,000 – 220,000 / $125,000 – 229,000). Featuring a highly complicated minute repeater movement of the finest quality, according to our research, it is one of only around 80 pieces produced.

· A Very Rare and Early Pocket Watch by Patek, Czapek and Cie. soared to more than six times the estimate to achieve CHF 65,000 / $ 64,780 (lot 135, estimate CHF 7,000 – 10,000 / $7,300 – 10,400). Made in 1842, this is one of the earliest watches which employed the stem-winding system and one of only 42 examples of its kind by Frantisek Czapek and Count Anton de Patek.