This year, auction houses are popping with some of the unique, rare and iconic watches. Amidst the global pandemic situation and economic downturn, the luxury watch industry can eliminate the boredom of its enthusiasts or collectors.
While leading brands like Rolex turned up with new novelties in September, auction houses presented some of the rarest watches, including the ones that were never expected to exist. Now, it seems to be the turn of Phillips December auction to hit the nail on the head.
Phillips “Racing Pulse” auction will be held in December. However, the center of attraction will perhaps be the Rolex Daytona “Big Red” Reference 6263. Paul Newman owned and wore this Daytona. So you can ideally expect how exciting it can be.
Continue reading below to delve into Paul Newman’s Rolex Daytona 6263 that will be featured at the “Racing Pulse” auction by Phillips in December.
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The Rolex Daytona “Big Red” Reference 6263 of Paul Newman
This Rolex Daytona is the “Big Red” Reference 6263 that Paul Newman owned. However, the story says that Paul Newman’s wife Joanne Woodward presented him this watch on their 25th Anniversary in 1983.
The watch comes with an engraved case-back showcasing the texts “Drive slowly” and “Joanne”. However, it is said that the legendary racer and actor Paul Newman gave the timepiece to James Cox in 1984.
If it feels like you have seen this Rolex Daytona before, it will be no surprise. Why? The watch made its appearance in the 2017’s book “A Man And His Watch” by Matt Hranek. However, you may have seen Paul Newman strapping this Daytona in many pictures from the mid-1980s.
It’s Paul Newman’s Rolex Daytona – Clear your Confusion
The skepticism regarding this Rolex Daytona 6263 lies in the terminology. The watch is – “Paul Newman’s Daytona”, not a “Paul Newman Daytona”. There should be no confusion. Indeed, watch collecting is not that simple.
Phillips auction house sold the Paul Newman Daytona for a record price of about £13.46million in October 2017. It became the world’s costliest wristwatch at the time. So there has been much speculation on whether and when this timepiece will come to light.
People were well-conversant about the watch’s owner, its prevailing place and also, its priceless sentimental value. With that in mind, you might be slightly surprised to know that this asset is parting with the Newman family. But they have a praiseworthy intention.
The expectedly huge sum obtained from this Daytona’s sale will be used for supporting many charities that Paul Newman founded. The charities are namely Children’s Network, Safe Water Network and SeriousFun.
However, Paul Newman gave the timepiece to her daughter Clea in 2008, before he died. And today, she is consigning and supporting the sale.
The Estimated Selling Price of Paul Newman’s Rolex Daytona 6263
Paul Neman’s Rolex Daytona Reference 6263 is expected to fetch more than one million pounds. Interestingly, Phillips estimated the same before selling the iconic Paul Newman Daytona in 2017.
However, this situation is very different. And this Rolex Daytona is perhaps not going to fetch anywhere around £13.46 million. No doubt, this Paul Newman’s Rolex Daytona 6263 is a fantastic timepiece with acclaimed provenance.
However, it would be an exciting sale at a digitally broadcasted auction, and the bidding will go in million as expected.
Another Highlight at the Upcoming Phillips Auction
Phillips announced another watch that will feature at the “Racing Pulse” auction in December. And it is one of the six Heuer Monaco timepieces that appeared in the 1971’s classic film “Le Mans”.
This Heuer Monaco is perhaps the only watch that became so popular after appearing in a movie. However, there is a significant reason for its unparallel popularity.
When Steve McQueen appears on the screen, he takes all the attention. And Monaco shared the screen with him.
Six Heuer Monaco timepieces were used for filming. However, McQueen kept two of them, while the prop master kept the other four. The Monaco that will be auctioned is one of the two owned by McQueen himself.
Steve McQueen gifted this watch to Haig Alltounian – the chief mechanic on the movie and also, McQueen’s mechanic. Thus, the case-back flaunts the engraving “TO HAIG / LE MANS 1970”.
In an interview for the 2015 documentary “Steve McQueen: The Man & Le Mans”, Alltounian said that he initially denied keeping the watch when McQueen presented it to him.
But he finally had to accept as the watch already had Haig’s name engraved on it. Since then, the timepiece accompanied Alltounian on his wrist for decades, and now it will appear in auction coming fresh from him directly.
However, the appeal of this Heuer Monaco does not end here. The fascinating fact is that this watch is the last of the total six official Le Mans Monaco examples to crop up for sale. The last time people saw one Le Mans Monaco at auction was in 2012.
It was one of the four Monacos that belonged to the prop master, selling for nearly £606,200 at a Hollywood memorabilia auction house.
Well, you might be interested to know that the Le Mans Monaco watches hold a typical and fascinating position among the watch legend. These watches are unique, and their popularity is because they participated in this legendary moment in horology history.
However, the auction house has listed Steve McQueen’s Monaco as an “estimate upon request”. It is said that the consignor does not want to declare or publish the estimated price of the watch. So you will not get to the actual estimate of the timepiece.
But there are good chances that this Steve McQueen’s Heuer Monaco will cross the one-million-pound mark, keeping in mind its historical significance, provenance and quantity. It may also mount higher than this mark.
This Heuer Monaco is a combination of a classic watch aesthetic and pop culture. Thus, you can expect a broad audience and die-hard fans and admirers of Steve McQueen are no less. Watch collectors have to wait till December 12 when the Phillips’ “Racing Pulse” will feature these two exclusive watches.
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