Paul Newman Rolex Daytona fetches $17.8M at auction-143943

Paul Newman's Rolex "Paul Newman" Daytona fetched close to $17.8 million during a sale of 50 iconic watches by Phillips New York auction house in association with Bacs & Russo.

Following a 12-minute bidding war that opened with a $10 million phone bid, the watch sold to a competing bidder by phone for $17,752,500.

"This record result is a testament to the historic importance and continued legacy of this Rolex, which is responsible for creating an entirely new market and inspiring a new generation of collectors," said Aurel Bacs, senior consultant and co-founder of Bacs & Russo SA.

Newman's wife Joanne Woodward selected the Rolex Cosmograph Daytona, manufactured in 1968 and designed specifically for motorsport, as a gift with the inscription "DRIVE CAREFULLY ME" around the time Newman's iconic movie "Winning" was filmed. It was fitted with a dial that would later be nicknamed the "Paul Newman" dial and raise demand for all models of Daytona watches.

In 2015, a pocket watch made by Patek Philippe in 1933 for prominent banker Henry Graves sold for $24.4 million at Sotheby's.

By RACER Staff / Image courtesy Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo