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As well as Hollywood, Paul Newman’s name is engraved into the horological world. He wasn’t just an actor, but a director, producer, entrepreneur, philanthropist and race car driver. Within this diverse career, he was a serial winner gaining an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in “The Colour of Money” and winning four national titles in sports car racing along with success in the Le Mans competition finishing second overall and first in his class.
In relation to the watch world, Paul Newman is a prominent figure known for wearing the iconic Rolex Daytona. Newman wore the Daytona due to the model’s purpose and function being in line with motor racing, a passion in which he picked up after training for the movie Winning in 1969. The Oscar winner was spotted wearing many Daytonas during his time, in fact, enthusiasts align Paul Newman’s name to specific Daytona references that were produced in the 1960s to the 1980s.
At auction, Paul Newman’s personal four Daytona models collected a sum of over $25 million, with one model once breaking the record for the most expensive watch sold at an auction. In this article, we unveil this model and three other Daytona’s that Newman personally owned which were part of this impressive sum.
Rolex Daytona Reference 6239 - $17,752,500
(Image from Phillips)
It feels right to open the account with Paul Newman’s Rolex Daytona reference 6239 which is the most expensive watch ever sold at auction, selling through a Phillips auction for $17,752,500 in 2017! This specific Daytona watch was gifted to him by his wife, Joanne Woodward with a special caring message engraved into the caseback stating “DRIVE / CAREFULLY / ME.”
When celebrity owned watches are up for auction then typically they are sold for quite a fortune, check out Tom Brady’s auction of his wristwatches which rounded up $4.6 million last year. However, Paul Newman’s Daytona reference 6239 makes Tom Brady’s sale seem small. Unfortunately, the buyer of Newman’s Daytona 6239 has been documented to be anonymous.
Newman’s stainless steel Daytona 6239 featured an exotic dial which is lightly cream coloured, distinguishing the model from other types of dial like the “Panda.” There are contrasting black sub-dials making the dial pop more with the tachymetric scale on the steel case. This dial is commonly referred to as the Paul Newman dial which was the only exotic dial he wore.
During this model’s production run, the Daytona was nowhere near as popular as they are currently being distributed in low numbers. This makes vintage Daytona models much more desirable due to the rarity and of course, “Paul Newman” nickname. Additionally, Daytona’s were much smaller with this reference featuring a 37mm case size, a conventional diameter at the time compared to the larger 40mm which is much more common today.
Inside the small case was the manual-winding Calibre 722 - Valijoux 722 movement modified by Rolex. This was then replaced by the Calibre 4030 for the next generation of Daytona models which is actually a Zenith movement for their own El Primero chronograph. Focusing on Newman’s Daytona reference 6239, the manual-winding calibre was a standard feature for watches at the time before the rise in automatic movements in the 1970s.
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This Daytona owned by Paul Newman broke the record for the most expensive wristwatch sold at auction but it was beaten two years after in 2019 by the Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime. Yet, it is still truly impressive and remains as one of the most iconic timepieces in the horological world. We wonder how Paul Newman would have reacted if he was still with us today.
Rolex Daytona Reference 6263 - $5,475,000
(Images from Hodinkee)
Like Newman’s reference 6239, his Rolex Daytona reference 6263 was sold through a Phillips auction but the main difference was the price tag. Despite not reaching the $17 million sale, Newman’s Daytona 6263 still sold for over a million dollars, in fact $5,475,000 to be precise.
Another similarity to Newman’s Daytona 6239 is that this Daytona 6263 was also gifted to Newman by his wife. There is an engraving on the caseback stating “Drive Slowly / Joanne ” in which, although not identical, the message is clearly the same showing her loving and caring demeanour.
Part of this reference 6263 is the iconic Oyster bracelet, black bezel and black dial with contrasting white coloured sub-dials. Most importantly, there is the vibrant red capitalised “DAYTONA” text on the black dial and due to this, horological enthusiasts gave this model the nickname “Big Red.”
Recently, we lost one of Hollywood’s icons Robert Redford who was a close colleague and friend of Paul Newman, starring in two films together and becoming admirable companions off-screen. We discovered the only main timepiece that Redford wore: his one and only Rolex Submariner reference 1680 which incorporates a similar configuration as Newman’s Daytona 6263.
The origins behind Redford’s Submariner is unknown whereas Newman’s Daytona is more documented. Again, Joanne Woodward gifting this Daytona to Newman was a clear depiction of her love for her husband. Bought by an unknown buyer, this ranks as number one as the most expensive reference 6263, in front of the yellow-gold piece which sold for $3,717,906.
Rolex Daytona Reference 16520 - $1,143,000
(Images from Sotheby's)
In 2023, another two of Paul Newman’s Rolex Daytonas were sold at a Sotheby’s auction which make up the final two to feature in this article. The first of the final two is Newman’s Daytona reference 16520 also known as the Daytona “Zenith” or vice versa.
This reference has already been mentioned in this article when discussing Rolex’s use of foreign movements in earlier generations of the Daytona. Here, Rolex implemented Zenith’s chronograph movement for the El Primero into the Daytona models produced from 1988 to 2000.
The most popular Daytona model reference to feature the El Primero movement is the 16520, crafted in stainless steel and featuring an elegant white dial which is what we see above. What separates this piece from the rest isn’t solely because it was owned by Paul Newman but also due to the special engraving on the caseback.
Buy Rolex Daytona 116520 Stainless Steel White Dial
- ▪White "APH" dial
- ▪Oyster bracelet with fold over clasp
- ▪Automatic Movement
On the caseback it states “PAUL NEWMAN / ROLEX MOTORSPORTS / MAN OF THE YEAR / 1995” which is a link to Paul Newman’s participation in the 1995 Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona. 70-year-old Paul Newman co-drove a racing Ford Mustang where his team finished 1st in class and 3rd overall in the endurance race. This piece paid homage to Newman for his dedication and success to this racing competition.
Newman has been pictured wearing his “Zenith” Daytona during the race and after where he celebrated with his team. Sold through Sotheby's auction, this “Zenith” Daytona owned by Paul Newman was sold for $1,143,000.
Rolex Daytona Reference 116519 - $1,079,500
(Images from Sotheby's)
Finally, is the Rolex Daytona reference 116519 which featured in the same auction as Newman’s “Zenith” Daytona. This is an 18CT white gold piece which features a black dial and black leather strap. Additionally, inside the white gold case was Rolex’s first ever in-house chronograph movement, the Calibre 4130 which the Swiss brand developed and incorporated after using Zenith’s chronograph movement.
Of course, also featured in this watch was an endearing engraving of “DRIVE / VERY SLOWLY / JOANNE” into the caseback from his wife. Once again, Woodward gifted this white gold Daytona reference 11619 in 2006, being the last model the Oscar winner owned before passing away two years later.
Woodward, also an Academy Award winner, engraved every Daytona she gifted to her husband starting with the first Daytona model stating “DRIVE / CAREFULLY / ME,” then “Drive Slowly / Joanne” and lastly “DRIVE / VERY SLOWLY / JOANNE.” Over the course of time, we can see as the couple got older the messages from Joanne became more caring and cautious which is a clear sign of their wonderful relationship.
Despite not selling for as much as the previous three Daytona models, having been bought for $1,079,500, this might be the most special engraving which could be perceived as a beautiful send-off for Newman from Woodward.
It is unknown whether Paul Newman owned many more watches gifted by his wife Joanne Woodward or even the exact number of Rolex watches he owned during his life. What we do know is Newman’s four Daytona models mentioned in this article has collected over $25 million which is sensational.
