The first thing to know about watch collecting is that it is not, at its core, about the watch itself. That is, it’s not about the watch as a machine (if it were, everyone would buy a $50 ticker and go on with their lives); it’s about the watch as a piece of history, as an investment based on changing proclivities, as a sartorial statement and, most of all, as a story. That’s why Paul Newman’s personal Rolex Daytona was able to sell for $17.75 million even though, as Hodinkee Editor-in-Chief Jack Forster noted, “from a purely horological standpoint [the watches] are fairly uninteresting.”
If you count yourself in the $50 watch category you can stop here, but if you fancy yourself a collector (budding or otherwise), you’d do well to peruse the Fresh Finds auction happening at Bob’s Watches through June 15, which includes a Rolex Paul Newman Daytona among other coveted models from the Swiss icon.
No, the Paul Newman Daytona on offer is not Paul Newman’s personal watch (the naming convention specifies certain Daytona models, as Hodinkee has described in detail), but it does come with a wild backstory. As the listing notes, this Ref. 6241 model is the exact watch that made headlines last year when a Canadian woman found it in the cushions of a couch she bought from a thrift store. Now, it’s expected to sell for somewhere in the ballpark of $175K to $225K.
If that’s too rich for your blood, there are plenty of other enticing timepieces to choose from, including multiple rare Submariners in excellent condition and a few GMT-Masters with the coveted Pepsi bezel. If you’re worried about the wear and tear on each piece, especially because you won’t be able to handle them in person before bidding, Bob’s Watches makes it clear that “all are original watches from their original owners.” (I don’t know how they can make that claim for the couch Daytona, but for the others it’s good to know.)
And yes, just to address the elephant in the room for those not in the know, Bob’s Watches is a highly respected dealer despite the pedestrian name. We’ve touted the site for years, and they’ve even schooled us in collectable Rolexes if you’re looking for a place to start.
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