The 10 Most Expensive Rolex Watches Ever Sold at Auction, From the Paul Newman to the Unicorn

Perhaps it's a modern longing for those 20th-century days of adventure-days when maps had vast, blank spaces and a sense of wonder at the world's mysteries still remained-that has driven interest in early, steel tool watches to such dizzying heights, and especially those from Rolex As of 2020, this is the second-most expensive Rolex ever sold at auction after Paul Newman's Daytona In 1954, while in Geneva attending a convention that would split Vietnam into two distinct states, Bao Dai-the final emperor of Vietnam and then-head of state-walked into a Rolex boutique and requested, essentially, "The rarest and most precious Rolex ever made" The ref.

After a heated bidding war, it hammered for over $3.7 million, making it the second-most expensive Rolex ever sold at the time after the Bao Dai A Paul Newman: dating from 1966, this possibly unique Daytona is a sort of "Pre-PN." Its oversized subdials have the exotic-dial look, but the watch's face is otherwise adorned with only the Rolex coronet and Rolex wordmark Rather, it's thought they were gifted exclusively to members of certain racing teams, making them some of the rarest Rolex watches in existence.

Now here's a watch that broke several records at once: the most expensive watch ever sold at an online auction; the record price for a "John Player Special" Daytona; and the record price for a watch sold in the UK Auctioned online in July 2020 during the spread of COVID-19, this "JPS" is one of only ten ref. . Source