Latest news with #Daytonas
Business Mayor
12-05-2025
- Business
- Business Mayor
A rare platinum Rolex is heading to auction and could fetch $1.7 million
A rare 1999 platinum Rolex Daytona featuring a mother-of-pearl dial with diamond hour markers — one of only four known to exist. Courtesy of Sotheby's A legendary timepiece is about to step into the spotlight. A 1999 platinum Rolex Daytona is heading to auction on Sunday at Sotheby's Geneva, and could sell for up to $1.7 million. The watch is made from platinum, a material Rolex did not use on Daytona models until 2013. Its face is mother-of-pearl, set with 10 diamonds. Unlike nearly every other Rolex on the market, it was not part of a standard collection. It was privately commissioned, custom-made for a client — something almost unheard of for Rolex. 'It's very unusual to come across a commission,' said Pedro Reiser, senior watch specialist at Sotheby's. 'There are other brands which might be more flexible and do these kinds of exercises, maybe on a regular basis — but not in the space of Rolex pieces where you barely can come across any commission whatsoever.' Only four of these watches are known to exist, made for the same family, each with a different dial. The watch heading to the auction block is the last one to be sold. The others have already gone for massive prices, topping $3 million. There is big hype around this small work of metal. It is believed to have been created under the leadership of Patrick Heiniger, Rolex's CEO from 1992 to 2008. He ran the company during a time of major growth and secrecy and helped turn Rolex from a respected watch brand into a global luxury icon. Read More How to take a super-low budget holiday While rumors have swirled that Heiniger personally commissioned or wore a similar platinum Daytona, Reiser cautions that there is no confirmed link to this watch. 'That's more of a rumor,' Reiser said. 'Personally, I've never seen him with this piece, but I know that he used to love platinum watches — mainly Day-Date models. It's a nice story that accompanies the watch, but I think it's more of a myth.' The fact that Rolex made a platinum Daytona in 1999, long before it introduced platinum models publicly in 2013, is a major part of the watch's mystique. 'Back then, they only existed in stainless steel, yellow gold and white gold,' Reiser said. 'Having a platinum — the only known platinum Zenith Daytona — is very special.' Rolex didn't begin producing platinum Daytonas until 2013, making this 1999 custom-ordered timepiece a historic anomaly in the brand's legacy. Courtesy of Sotheby's This particular model stands apart even from its siblings. 'This is the only one that has a diamond-set dial,' Reiser said. 'The others had dark mother-of-pearl, lapis lazuli and turquoise stone dials, but no diamonds.' As more people, especially wealthy collectors and younger buyers, increasingly see rare watches as investments, the prices of these rare timepieces have climbed. According to Knight Frank's latest index, watches have jumped more than 125% in value over the past decade, ranking them among the top-performing luxury investments, just behind rare whisky and high-end designer furniture. Even after a slight cooling, with prices rising only 1.7% over the past year, the five-year growth rate for watches of 52.7% signals the category remains a reliable long-term play. Demand has only broadened, with more international buyers and a wave of under-30 collectors entering the market, Reiser said.
Forbes
16-04-2025
- Automotive
- Forbes
Rare Rolex Daytona Expected To Command Up To $1.6 Million At Auction
A unique Rolex Cosmograph Daytona will be one of the highlights of Sotheby's Important Watches auction in Geneva on May 11. The 1999 Cosmograph Daytona, Ref.16516, in platinum with a diamond-set mother-of-pearl dial has an estimate of $800,000 - $1.6 million. It is one of the rarest Rolex watches ever made, according to the auction house. It is a commissioned Rolex wristwatch, from a brand that famously doesn't do privately commissioned limited editions. This model is confirmed for the first time to be the last of four Daytonas commissioned to Rolex in a single order by the same private collector who requested anonymity and created between 1998 and 1999. It comes to auction for the first time. All four watches have the same reference number 16516, the last digit, '6,' refers to the use of platinum, a first for a Daytona, Sotheby's said. For more than a decade, the automatic Daytona was offered only in stainless steel, two-tone steel and gold, yellow gold and white gold. An exception was made in 1999 when one person was granted a Cosmograph Daytona rendered in platinum. The first time Rolex started producing platinum Daytonas in a series was in 2013, to mark the 15th anniversary of the model. 'This highlights the historical importance of this special commission created nearly 15 years earlier,' Sotheby's said in a statement. The existence of a platinum Zenith-powered Daytona was, for many years, a myth fueled by speculations that swirled around one name in particular: Patrick Heiniger, Rolex's CEO from 1992 to 2008. Heiniger is believed to have been seen wearing a platinum automatic Daytona before they were made in a series. Until Sotheby's unearthed the first known example in 2018, the story was widely considered as being apocryphal within the watch community. The four dials in the commission are all different, making each watch unique. This is the last of the four watches from the commission coming for the first time on the market. This makes it the last chance for a collector to be the first to acquire a piece of Rolex history, Sotheby's said. This Rolex Daytona, with a mother-of-pearl dial set with ten diamonds, was manufactured by Rolex in circa 1999 and comes with its certificate and accessories. The other three in the series featured a dark mother-of-pearl dial, a lapis lazuli dial and a turquoise dial. This example being the only one set with diamonds. All three were sold by Sotheby's way above their initial estimate in 2018, 2020 and 2021, with the lapis lazuli hardstone example achieving a world record price of $3.2 million at Sotheby's 2020 Hong Kong sale. 'A milestone in the history of the Cosmograph Daytona, its rarity, provenance and superlative craftsmanship make this 1999 Cosmograph Daytona, Ref.16516 with a diamond-set mother-of-pearl dial, one of the most important examples ever to be presented at auction. It is also an exceptional book ending to the sale of this extraordinary commission of four masterpieces, three of which have already found new homes through previous Sotheby's sales,' said Benoît Colson, head of Watches, Sotheby's Geneva.
