Two Rolex Daytona’s belonging to Paul Newman sell for over $1mn each

Two Rolex Daytona timepieces, belonging to the late actor and race car driver Paul Newman sold at Sotheby’s in New York for $1.1 million each on Friday.

A Rolex ‘Zenith’ Daytona and a white gold Daytona worn and owned by the legendary Hollywood actor who passed away in 2008 were the highlights of a special 134-lot, ‘Important Watches’ sale.

Both had been previously estimated to sell for up to $1 million, but the final bid prices reached $900,000 for the ‘Zenith’ Daytona and $850,000 for the white gold Daytona, which with sales fees brought the final prices to $1.143 million and $1.08 million, reported Bloomberg.

Paul Newman’s Rolexes celebrating his racing career up for auction

Sotheby’s had previously said that the watches are “imbued with sentimental and historical value imparting from pinnacle moments in Newman’s celebrated racing career.”

In 1995, Paul Newman participated in the 24 Hours of Daytona Race, where his team won first place in their GT-1 class. Newman was gifted a ‘Zenith’ Daytona to commemorate when he won the Man of the Year award at the race which was sponsored by Rolex, according to Sotheby’s.

Luxury Swiss watchmaker Rolex looks to accelerate production to meet rising demand

The watch bears the inscription ‘Rolex at Daytona 24 Paul Newman Rolex Motorsports Man of the Year 1995’.

In 1999, Newman, famed for his philanthropic work, decided to auction the watch during Antiquorum’s ‘Famous Faces’ sale. At that time, it fetched a record sale of $39,000 to benefit Newman’s charity.

Newman, however, was spotted wearing the watch again in the following years, sparking speculation that a close family member or friend had repurchased it for him.

World’s most expensive ruby, rare pink diamond sell for $35mn each

The next watch, a white gold automatic chronographic wristwatch featuring a black dial, was the only precious metal Daytona that Newman ever owned, according to Sotheby’s.

It is one of only three known Daytona watches gifted to Paul from his wife, actress Joanne Woodward. An engraving on the back reads, ‘Drive Very Slowly, Joanne.’ The couple starred together in the 1969 movie ‘Winning’, which also set off Newman’s successful racing career.

Woodward is known for her loving inscriptions and her fear of Newman’s need for speed every time he would step onto the racetrack. The watch was worn during his iconic Last Racing Laps at Lime Rock Park on August 13, 2008.

The two Rolex sales just concluded are a part of the ‘The World of Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman,’ an auction that has been running since May 31 and will close on June 13. The series consists of more than 300 individual items, including a 1998 Volvo V90 ‘Volvette’ and the racing suit Newman wore during his last professional race in 2007 and in his final lap in 2008.

Another Rolex that belonged to Newman was sold by New York auction house Phillips for a staggering $17.8 million in 2017, a world record for a wrist watch.

Investment in Rolex, Patek watches exceeds S&P gains over five years: report