Why Paul Newman's Rolex Daytona Is the Definitive Racing Watch
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When bidding ended on October 26, 2017, a single wristwatch had sold for a record-setting $17.8 million. Why that particular watch—a not-that-rare 1968 Rolex Cosmograph Daytona Reference 6239—would attract so much money speaks volumes about collecting, racing, celebrity, and the value of a great story.
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Actor Joanne Woodward gifted this Rolex to her husband, Paul Newman, in 1969. Newman took up racing that year to brilliant success. He wore this Rolex during many races over the next 15 years.
At this point, consider Plato. The Athenian philosopher concluded that pleasure in itself
is intrinsically good while pain is intrinsically bad, so anything that brings pleasure has intrinsic value. For a mechanical object like a Rolex or a Duesenberg, intrinsic value lies in the intricacies of design: beauty, superior construction, and the utility of function.
The Swiss-made Cosmograph Daytona packs an intrinsic design wallop. Introduced in 1963 for motorsport use, the Reference 6239, with its “exotic” black-on-white dial, has three subdials and big pushers to operate the chronograph functions. The watch’s mechanical heart is the renowned and reliable Valjoux 72 movement.
The vintage Daytona 6239 is cherished by collectors for its intrinsic value. Dealers sometimes ask $250,000 or more for examples that weren’t worn by Newman. He brought all the extrinsic value to the watch, which inflated its cost.
Racing and watches have been bound together for as long as there have been cars and time. Rolex has ties to racing going back to the 1930s—Sir Malcolm Campbell wore a Rolex when he broke the land speed record on Daytona Beach in 1935. Today Rolex is the official timepiece of Formula 1 and sponsor of the 24 Hours of Daytona. The romance and reputation of the Rolex Daytona is largely about racing.
But Paul Newman wasn’t just a racer. He was, for a time, the world’s most popular movie star, a keen businessman, and a humanitarian. He was the guy other guys wanted to be. This Rolex was his, given to him at a pivotal moment in his life by his wife, another movie star. “Drive Carefully Me” is the inscription Woodward had engraved on the watch’s back.
“It is the most important collector Rolex,” says Benjamin Clymer, founder of Hodinkee, a watch and lifestyle website. “To many, it is the archetype of the collectible watch. It has rarity, provenance, and exceptional design.”
In 1984 Newman gave the watch to James Cox, his daughter Nell’s college boyfriend. It was Cox who consigned it to the Phillips auction house in 2017. Cox promised to donate some of the sale’s proceeds to the Nell Newman Foundation to continue her father’s heritage of philanthropy.
Intrinsic qualities sustain themselves well over the years: An old Ferrari V-12 remains exquisite. But extrinsic factors exist in the context of time. Newman means a lot to those born in the middle of the 20th century, less so to those born in the 21st. It may be that the next time this Daytona goes to auction, the bidding will be less frenzied. None of us, even Paul Newman, is forever.
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