A conventional Rolex from the current catalog costs something between 7,000 and a maximum of 108,000 euros. Very rare watches – depending on the diamond setting – scratch the million mark in individual cases. However, the latter only applies to absolutely exceptional models, which you cannot get from every jeweler. These include, for example, soccer star Harry Kane’s outrageously expensive Rainbow Rolex, reference 116595RBOW. And even its execution doesn’t cost a million, after all it lacks the diamonds on the bracelet.
Ten times Rolex over the million mark
For the most expensive Rolex watches sold at auction to date, the million marks just the beginning. Because oldies, some of which have spent fifty years or more on the wrists and in the drawers of collectors, athletes and racing drivers, do not exist in large numbers. Sometimes models even appear that were no longer known to exist.
The undisputed price driver is and remains Paul Newman. Watches associated with him fetch the highest prices at auction. One of his first Daytona models, which he received as a present from his wife Joanne in 1968 and wore visibly on his wrist throughout his life, set the absolute record. Expensive Daytona models don’t necessarily have to have touched the racer’s skin – it’s enough if they look like one of his watches and have the same dial. A “Paul Newman” Daytona is hard to come by for under half a million.
The Emperor’s old Rolex
Other celebrities also give the watches a special value. There would be Jack Nicklaus and Sir Eric Clapton, for example, whose Rolex watches broke the million mark at auction. If the attributes “prominent previous owner” and “particularly rare” even come together, the upper limit is wide open. One of the most expensive watches in the Rolex world is the timepiece of the last Vietnamese emperor, Bao Dai, who, during a stay in Geneva, did not want to be satisfied with an off-the-shelf watch and made Rolex sweat a lot.
You will learn about these stories and more as you progress through this gallery.
Also read:
Long waiting lists at Rolex: Why you can’t just buy a luxury watch
Rolex prices are apparently falling further: the first models are again available below the new price – in exceptional cases
Source: Stern
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