Rolex

Christies Auction Results - Surpassing all expectations, ROLEX DAYTONA "LESSON ONE" –a prestigious single-themed evening auction featuring 50 exceptional examples of the world's most celebrated chronograph wristwatch, totalled ,032,850 /$13,248,167 / €9,8...  

Rolex. An extremely rare and important stainless steel chronograph wristwatch with pulsation dial and bracelet Signed Rolex, Cosmograph, Daytona, ref. 6239, case no. 1'695'328, manufactured in 1967 Source: Christies - Rolex Daytona Lesson One - November 2...  

Rolex. A very rare and attractive 18K gold chronograph wristwatch with black dial and box Signed Rolex, Cosmograph, Daytona, Paul Newman model, ref. 6239, case no. 1'757'920, manufactured in 1969 Source: Christies - Rolex Daytona Lesson One - November 201...  

Love the 6263/6239, very sexy and charming. Thank you Bill. Cheers Francois from Down Under

Money seem to be no object these days. What people want people get. Bill

I really think that the auction results are going just northbound these days, we used to think 500,000 was high for a reasonably rare patek but the near 4 million for the titanium 5004 has clearly proven otherwise...

The prime pieces always seem to find buyers and with every auction we continue to make higher highs until.... The bottom drops out but then the sellers hold back and the market comes back and the cycle repeats. Bill

it the search for good/alternative investments, because "classical" investments don´t deliver these days and some people just feel they have to something with their money? If you can´t trust your banker anymore, you already have to many real estates ... a... 

excess available funds and find that a "normal" return of say 7-8 % is nowhere near enough. So speculation starts, it's just another game and as such in the end there will be the suckers who entered the game to late. Cheers Francois

Yes, I think so :-) Oliver

Where the themed sale resulted in some inflated prices of buyers who 'bought into the mania'. Did history just repeat itself... as prices for some rather abundant models yielded astronomical prices? Or the cheeky part of me wants to ask how can I submit a... 

bankers/customers with some money left, after their crisis :-)

I bet you're right....sure:):) Cheers Francois

I venture for a what is in my opinion the most likely profile. The person is in his (I think he is a male) mid 30 to 40 years old, smart thinking, wearing Armani or Zegna suits or the like, Church shoes or the like, suntanned, plays squash and goes to the... 

Nicolas- I was there in the room and watched Frederick from Christies buying at LEAST 6 or possible 7 of the top 12 lots. Either he was buying on behalf of a dealer (which I doubt but possible) or he was buying on behalf of one client. He seemed to have b... 

When you get the best scholars in the world for a line of Rolex together with the worlds best auctioneer you get the result you got last night. Yes prices were vey strong. But the offering was equally as strong. The atmosphere was electrifying!

It is one of those things that seem to divide vintage Rolex collectors. You wither buy-in to the theme or you leave it alone completely. The trouble with the vintage is that i suspect there are even more variations and permutations than for Subs. I met a ... 

Unlike the price, it sky rocketed:):) In all seriousness, did you pick it up? Cheers Francois from Down Under

and it did work:):) Cheers Francois

... its true that the atmosphere was out of this world. Rolex is a real phenomena in the watch world, and daytona sits on the top of the hill. Priceless.... or very expensive :)

you'll have to forgive my ignorance, but looking at the sale, the PN dial seems to appear in multiple refrences. Given the extra value placed on the dial is there a way to authenticate the dial to the watch?

No.

watches came with a certificate of authenticity from Rolex either? Then the question I have to ask, is what is going on? Is the provenance of having been through the sale at Christies worth the heavy premium for these versions? Is it not fair to assume th... 

If one switch dials or case so that a watch is period correct for the purpose of selling at a higher price and collectors / traders INSIST it is " original" ...........i find that " unethical". I am not saying all vintage watches are like this. Many are o... 

I'm not sure if you're referring just to Rolex's or to vintage watches in general? Like you say I can understand the comfort of owning a vintage Patek with the provenance and back-up they can supply. There are lots of other wonderful brands out there, bes... 

....you can add to your list the fact that originally, the PN version of the dial was very unusual. Most people elected to go with the normal standard issue dial. How many PN dials were made? Who knows. Estimates vary at between 5-10% of the total. Howeve... 

to do a better estimate of PN produced let's start from watch production data ; so roughly : 1) steel 6239-6240-6241-6262-6263-6264-6265 : around 50.000 watches ( not so rare .. LLLOOOLL ) 2) gold ( same references as above ) : around 5.000 ( these data a... 

.....50% or more of those were 6239???

a direct answer due to production overlap between 6239/6241 and 6262/6264. I can answer you in another way : there are two kinds of PN dials for steel 6239 : 1) type 1 with " square DAYTONA " in use for PN dials from the beginning up to around 2.000.000 (...  

. ...many thanks for such a detailed answer....and also for that illustration on types.....I will now need to check my own dial!!

no need to check your watch : with a black dial it can be only a " type 1 " : the printing " T SWISS T " in the type1 is nicknamed " roof " due to the increasing and decreasing shape of the word SWISS : there are 3 different shapes ( high , middle and low...  

there are 3 correct different versions of the printing " T SWISS T " at 6 . type 2 has just one correct shape ( the word SWISS must be flat ).

in your first post you mention - " batches of replacement dials ( made with the same dies )" Is there a way to tell these dials from the two you show?

about your question : first of all I'm speaking only of dial with the correct SINGER punch in the back ( two types also for this feature ) and thus accepted by Rolex and not about dials with no punch at all or with a " fantasy " punch . for what I know th... 

It's much appreciated.

I really appreciate and like the Daytona as a watch and the PN dial is very beautiful. It was certainly not my aim to question a collectors desire or the value they may place on it. The cocktail that goes into why we want a watch is personal, and often co...  

You asked what stardust christies has that others don't have? Its pretty simple really. Get the worlds leading experts (Pucci, Auro etc) to find the best examples of Daytona. Put in some clever marketing. A little copy of the Puccis book. A nice red case.... 

At the same time on a well known internet website there are around 150 Daytona Valjoux for sale, and some are here since months or years... :D No one seriously believe that an auction wil lead to results which 2,3 or 5 times the high estimation on every l... 

and can't sell them for a small part of the christies results. We may talk of this sale for a long time. thanks for sharing Bill François

As much as Rolex for me is the ultimate 'brand builder' in this world, the best marketeers in the world simply, as much the people 'involved' in Rolex vintage watch dealing are simpy geniuses. The way Rolex sports models from 50s-70s are built up into an ... 

Very well said. Best, Nicolas

... i've once stated it in a different manner over here, and got the Rolex fans upset. But totally agree with you. Now if we take it a little deeper, it would be interesting to see all the dealers and vintage collectors that have similar models but can't ... 

what on earth makes you think that?:):) It is called speculation, it is an old game and today due to the GFC and QE1,2,2.5 and 3 the stakes are just getting higher. In the end some will be bitten harder too. Agree totally with your post. Cheers Francois f... 

yes, and it shows in what a polarised world we live in. Whilte ECB lowers interest rates out of fear of deflation (!), which might be the reality for 99% of people, there is an incredible asset price bubble building up in art market, real estate and vinta... 

Sotherby's 2011 Auction - lot 280 – an extremely rare Oyster Cosmograph Daytona “Paul Newman” with inverted lines dating from circa 1967 sold for CHF 206,500 ($233,120), comfortably exceeding the pre-sale estimate of CHF 100,000-150,000 ($111,000-166,000)...  

That's not a fair comparison, that was before the fine, sublime spiderweb pattern was discovered in the subdials!

It just seems a little crazy to say the least. The papers in the original one sold at Sotherby's????? Bill

on a previous post venturing to describe a possible profile of the buyer I stated a probable quick 10% profit:) I just realised that I missed a "0" :):) Cheers Francois from Down Under

description: ROLEX REF 6239 COSMOGRAPH DAYTONA TROPICAL DIAL Rolex, "Cosmograph Daytona" case No. 2005234, Ref. 6239. Made in 1969. Very fine and rare, water-resistant, stainless steel wristwatch with round button chronograph, registers, tachometer Estima...  

Insanity at it's greatest IMHO!

LLOOLLLLLL

There's a salesman's trick called "Anchoring". "So, let’s bring this concept to the surface (pun intended). Anchoring is generally used by a seller, which as a hypothetical example we will say the seller is happy to sell their product for $500, but to get... 

...  

Daytona they have and can't shift :) Only an idiot would pay those prices.

Christie's too but different auction. ;-) ...  

But I can not say who. Bill ...  

I agree, there's only one well known on the market after all. This one has been sold by Kamal some years ago and surfaced in auction for the first time @Christie's.

I don't think another exists. The price climbed very quickly. Nice example. Misunderstood by some. Best Bill