If you ask most vintage watch collectors what their ultimate "holy grail watch" is, many would answer the Rolex “Paul Newman” Daytona without hesitation. Perhaps the most important watch and dial configuration in the whole vintage Rolex oeuvre, these watches have become arguably the most prestigious and valuable watches ever produced by Rolex. Also known as the Rolex Daytona exotic dial, these watches will forever be known to most as the "Paul Newman" as the famed actor, racer, and philanthropist Paul Newman famously wore a ref. 6239 Daytona with an exotic panda dial configuration as his personal watch.

In October of 2017, Paul Newman's personal exotic dial Daytona ref. 6239 was auctioned by Phillips Auction House in NYC for $17.75m, making it the most expensive Rolex wristwatch ever sold and solidifying its position as the brand’s ultimate icon and the halo piece of watch collecting. 

The "Paul Newman" Daytona is often credited as being the watch that jump-started much of the vintage Rolex collecting market that is so alive and strong today. The history of the watch itself has a fascinating trajectory, making the leap from an unwanted dial variant of a humble sports chronograph, to becoming one of the most widely-coveted watches in the entire world. The rise in value and collectability of the Paul Newman Daytona very much dovetails with that of the vintage Rolex market as a whole, and few watches embody the values and overall spirit of vintage Rolex collecting better than the Paul Newman Daytona. 

CASE & BRACELET

The gently polished case remains symmetrical throughout with thick lugs that show light signs of use. The stainless steel "Units Per Hour" bezel is in overall excellent condition, retaining its factory black enamel and showing evidence of gentle polishing in the past. The case retains its original pump pushers. The Rolex 78350 Oyster bracelet with 571 end pieces is a later service unit and retains 13 links that show minimal stretch and will fit up to a 7 1/2 inch wrist.

DIAL & HANDS

The beautiful and rarely seen white variant of the Rolex Cosmograph Daytona "Paul Newman" dial utilizes its red and black accents to amplify the white dial’s visibility and makes for a truly iconic and recognizable design. The main matte white dial is in excellent overall condition, remaining bright with only very minimal spots of age present. The black sub-dials also remain in excellent condition, in the 3 o’clock sub-dial there is a small spot of age under the hand. The tritium lume plots have aged to a very handsome creamy coloration, under U.V. light inspection the lume plots all remain intact with some light degradation throughout. The hour and minute hands are luminova service units, the original tritium hands are supplied with the sale of the watch. The rest of the hands are original to the watch.

ACCESSORIES 

The watch comes complete with its original Rolex Guarantee papers, Rolex box, and the original tritium hour and minute hands. The watch was recently serviced and is keeping time perfectly, backed by a 1-year warranty on accurate timekeeping.