Five Rolex Daytonas sold for more than one million Swiss francs at this week’s international auction held by Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo.
The sale, promoted as the Daytona Ultimatum, brought in CHF 22.2 million (£16.3m) for the 32 Daytona timepieces in the auction.
The top lot of the sale, a 1970 model believed to be the only vintage white gold Rolex Cosmograph Daytona reference 6265 ever made, sold for CHF 5.93 million ($5,93). A proportion of the sale price is being donated to Children Action, and will be one of the largest charitable contributions ever from the sale of a single watch.
Aurel Bacs, senior consultant of Bacs & Russo, said: “The record-breaking sale results of Daytona Ultimatum reflected the collector community’s desire for highest quality property and the importance of the Rolex Daytona in the field of collector’s wristwatches. It’s been a tremendous honour offering ‘The Unicorn’ on behalf of John Goldberger, that achieved one of the largest charitable contributions ever in our industry. After the Joanne Woodward / Paul Newman Daytona we sold last season, it achieved the second highest price ever for a Rolex wristwatch. We are thrilled for this historic result and philanthropic gesture, and delighted by the lasting benefits the sale of this watch will provide to so many children.”
