When legendary actor Paul Newman started his racing career in the late ’60s, his wife Joanne Woodward bought him a Rolex Daytona ref 6239, a stainless steel chronograph that could measure elapsed time with a tachymeter. A feature very useful for endurance car races, which Newman loved participating in. The American actor continued to wear his wife’s gift during the publicity of his 1969 racing flick Winning . He was often spotted wearing it at public events for years after, even though he had no formal association with Rolex. The unassuming steel chronograph watch that Woodward bought for about $300 for her husband back in the days has now been bought for $17.7 million, making it highest price to be commanded by any wristwatch at an auction.
The Paul Newman watch has been revered by collectors for decades. For long, no one knew where it was. It became available for auction only recently when James Cox, the man who was gifted this watch by Newman himself, came forward to sell it and share part proceeds with Nell Newman’s foundation. Cox is a former boyfriend of Nell, daughter of Paul Newman.
The auction was conducted by Aurel Bacs, a senior consultant at Phillips auction house in association with Bacs and Russo. Bacs is one of the most experienced watch experts and auctioneer of Swiss timepieces. The bidding for the historic Rolex Paul Newman watch went on for nearly 12 minutes, unusual for a typical auction room scenario where the hammer doesn’t wait this long to go down. Bacs unfolded the myth behind this rare timepiece in an interview with
Having spoken to the sellers, Cox and Nell, we know there have been lukewarm attempts. Yet, they have shielded the watch because they did not want to meet unknown people, maybe in a burger joint, discuss the sale of this watch. I can say, since the ’80s’, when I was a young man reading books on watches, I saw a picture of Paul in his typical posture with the chin posed of his fist and the watch on his wrist, and thought, “Wouldn’t it be cool one day to see this watch and touch it?”
Why did Cox, who owned the watch for so many decades, decide to auction it now? The owner felt that it was a pity that such a meaningful watch was sitting in a vault. He is not a watch nerd, he doesn’t love watches, in fact I think most of his life he didn’t wear a watch, so he felt it’s a shame that nobody was enjoying it. Once he understood it could potentially be worth quite a bit, he reckoned that it could be put to better use. Paul would have wanted the money to work, notably for the foundation.
How was the response from the watch collector community when they discovered that THE Paul Newman watch is finally up for auction? It was June 1, when I was in Switzerland, that the news of the auction of Newman watch was to launch online. I chose not to go to office that day, I was a bit tired and kind of nervous. It’s a bit like when you hear from your school if you passed the final exam or not.
I knew that at 5 pm either the people would react excitedly, which would be a good sign or people would yawn and not find it exciting. So, I was just hiding at home when at 5.03pm, I began receiving 10, 20, 30 congratulatory texts! By 10pm, texts, Instagram posts, online features — the world was on fire! On social media people were saying, “Do you think it will make one million, two millions, four or five.” And I thought, “why are people throwing out these crazy numbers when they haven’t even seen the watch”. The response of the watch’s discovery and auction was immediate and ecstatic.
How was the mood at the auction room? The auction room at Phillips Park Avenue has a capacity for about 500 people; 400 seated, 100 standing. We realised the night before that there were up to 700 people who wanted to be seated. There were people who haven’t come to an auction in years. There were some first-time visitors , and there were phone bidders, or online bidders. The room was full for lot no. 8 (Paul Newman Watch), some to bid and the vast majority to watch. It was like having the box fight of the century, or the final of the Giants (a baseball metaphor)! When lot 8 first jumped to $10 million and then hammered at $15.5 million there was applause and everyone was happy. Including the buyer’s premium of 12.5 per cent, the final price came to to $17,752,500.
How special was this day for you? I am often asked if there is a ‘most significant watch’ that I have ever sold. It was the time when I sold the steel Patek Philippe 1518 for $11 million. Also, the time when I bought the Henry Graves Grand Complication (pocket watch) for $24 million. Paul Newman Rolex watch was truly special not because it is a world record for a wristwatch at auction but because I am such a huge admirer of Paul’s career. As an actor, as a race driver but most importantly because he was an incredibly charitable person, generous, very down to earth. Therefore the watch was more meaningful to me than many other watches where I don’t know who the original owner was. I didn’t meet Mr Graves, I am afraid!
When the next sale of the Newman watch happens, do you reckon the younger or newer watch collectors will be able to value its exceptionality perhaps another 20 years down the line? I think there are some people who simply survive generations and I am not talking about Mozart or Goethe, or Da Vinci. I am talking about 20th-century people like JFK, Newman, Winston Churchill, people that are so significant that they remain influential. Furthermore, how do you think the next generation of watch collections will call the 6239 steel Daytona with exotic dial? The Paul Newman! They will ask who was Paul Newman if they don’t know! Lastly I do not think that the new owner is interested in knowing what it’s worth in 20 years from now. I don’t think he is into selling it again and collecting a profit or realising a sale.
Shilpa Dhamijais the editor of LuxuryVolt.com