At Rolex, there had until now been an unwritten rule not to make one-off pieces. The company broke with that rule some time ago. The Geneva-based watchmaker created four unique versions of the Cosmograph Daytona for its «Four Seasons» collection — one each for spring, summer, autumn and winter. 

It had originally apparently been planned to sell the four watches as a set to a selected Rolex customer for around 4 million Swiss francs. However, interest exceeded expectations. According to watch portal Hodinkee, more than 1,000 names of potential buyers were submitted during the Watches & Wonders fair in Geneva. Several interested parties reportedly even signalled their willingness to pay 10 million dollars. 

Rolex ultimately chose a different route: the four watches were auctioned individually and for a good cause on Monday evening at the Phillips auction house in London.

The difference between the originally reported price and the actual result is substantial: instead of around 4 million Swiss francs for the entire set, Phillips raised 37.3 million pounds — equivalent to around 41.1 million Swiss francs.

Summer is the most expensive

The highest price was achieved by the «Summer Daytona» in Everose gold with a turquoise dial and «Heart of Ruby» counters. It fetched 10.3 million pounds. Close behind came the «Autumn Daytona» in yellow gold with a mookaite dial for 10.2 million pounds. 

The «Winter Daytona» in platinum went to a new owner for exactly 10 million pounds. Comparatively inexpensive was the “Spring Daytona” in white gold: it went under the virtual hammer for 6.8 million pounds. 

Buyers remain unknown

It was not disclosed who purchased the four watches. It is therefore also unclear whether four different collectors got them or whether individual buyers acquired multiple models.

It is also noteworthy that no buyer’s premium was charged at this auction, an exception. The entire proceeds go to the Roger Federer Foundation and to Re:wild, the conservation organisation co-founded by actor Leonardo DiCaprio. Phillips describes the 37.3 million pounds as the most valuable single consignment ever offered at a charity auction. 

It can get even more expensive

Anyone who thinks it cannot get any more expensive is mistaken. Paul Newman’s Daytona fetched nearly 18 million dollars at auction back in 2017. The value of the most expensive Rolex, the «Daytona Ref. 6239», lies less in extraordinary technical complexity than in its history. His wife, Joanne Woodward, gave him the stainless-steel watch in 1968. On the caseback, in view of his passion for motor racing, she had the personal warning «Drive Carefully – Me» engraved.

The watch remained in the Newman family’s orbit for almost 50 years. When it was auctioned by Phillips in New York in 2017, it fetched 17.75 million dollars.

Equally legendary is the Patek Philippe Henry Graves Supercomplication. The gold pocket watch was made for New York banker and watch collector Henry Graves Jr. and completed in 1933.

With its 24 complications, it was then considered the most complicated watch in the world. Its functions include a Westminster chime, perpetual calendar, sunrise and sunset times, and a sky chart of New York as seen from Graves’ apartment on Fifth Avenue. After his death, the watch changed hands several times. 

In 1999, Sheikh Saud bin Mohammed Al Thani of Qatar’s royal family bought the rare piece for 11 million dollars. After his death, Sotheby’s auctioned the watch five years later to an anonymous buyer for 24 million dollars. 

Officially, the world’s most expensive watch therefore remains (for now) the Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime Ref. 6300A-010. The one-off piece fetched no less than 31.19 million dollars at the Only Watch charity auction in Geneva in 2019. Seven years ago, the proceeds went to research into Duchenne muscular dystrophy.