The Record Ledger · updated October 2026 · 79 documented results
The 10 Most Expensive Rolex Watches Ever Sold
The most expensive Rolex watch ever documented by MostExpensiveWatches is the Rolex Daytona 'Paul Newman' ref. 6239, which realized $17,752,500 at Phillips New York in 2017 — the top of 79 documented results totaling $201,336,961.
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1
Rolex Daytona 'Paul Newman'
$17,752,500 · 2017 · Phillips New York
Paul Newman's personal Daytona, gifted by his wife Joanne Woodward in the late 1960s. Caseback inscribed 'DRIVE CAREFULLY ME'. The watch that defined the exotic-dial Daytona category.
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2
Rolex Oyster Perpetual Cosmograph Daytona "Summer"
$13,650,000 · 2026 · Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo London
Verified result from Rolex Four Seasons Daytona Charity Auction (Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo London), concluded 2026-09-28. Reported by the MostExpensiveWatches auction desk with primary sources on file.
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3
Rolex Cosmograph Daytona "Summer" (Turquoise Dial / Ruby Counters) Unique Piece
$13,650,000 · 2026 · Phillips London
Verified result from The Rolex Four Seasons Daytona Charity Auction (Phillips London), concluded 2026-09-28. Reported by the MostExpensiveWatches auction desk with primary sources on file.
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4
Rolex Cosmograph Daytona "Four Seasons: Autumn"
$13,500,000 · 2026 · Phillips London
Verified result from The Four Seasons (Rolex Charity Auction in Association with Bacs & Russo) (Phillips London), concluded 2026-09-28. Reported by the MostExpensiveWatches auction desk with primary sources on file.
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5
Rolex Cosmograph Daytona "Autumn" (Mookaite Dial / Chrysoprase Counters) Unique Piece
$13,500,000 · 2026 · Phillips London
Verified result from The Rolex Four Seasons Daytona Charity Auction (Phillips London), concluded 2026-09-28. Reported by the MostExpensiveWatches auction desk with primary sources on file.
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6
Rolex Oyster Perpetual Cosmograph Daytona "Winter"
$13,250,000 · 2026 · Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo London
Verified result from Rolex Four Seasons Daytona Charity Auction (Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo London), concluded 2026-09-28. Reported by the MostExpensiveWatches auction desk with primary sources on file.
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7
Rolex Oyster Perpetual Cosmograph Daytona "Spring"
$9,010,000 · 2026 · Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo London
Verified result from Rolex Four Seasons Daytona Charity Auction (Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo London), concluded 2026-09-28. Reported by the MostExpensiveWatches auction desk with primary sources on file.
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8
Rolex Cosmograph Daytona "Spring" (Chrysoprase Dial / Lepidolite Counters) Unique Piece
$9,000,000 · 2026 · Phillips London
Verified result from The Rolex Four Seasons Daytona Charity Auction (Phillips London), concluded 2026-09-28. Reported by the MostExpensiveWatches auction desk with primary sources on file.
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9
Rolex Cosmograph Daytona "The Unicorn"
$5,936,906 · 2018 · Phillips Geneva
The only known vintage white gold manual-winding Daytona ever produced, donated by collector John Goldberger to benefit the Children Action charity.
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10
Rolex Cosmograph Daytona "Big Red"
$5,475,000 · 2020 · Phillips New York
Paul Newman's personal 'Big Red' Daytona, gifted by his wife and worn by the actor for over two decades.
How the record was set
Every documented result that beat all before it.
| Year | New record | Watch |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | $864,521 | Rolex Cosmograph Daytona "Sultan Qaboos" · Christie's Geneva |
| 2013 | $1,089,186 | Rolex Cosmograph Daytona "RCO" Paul Newman · Christie's Geneva |
| 2013 | $1,145,000 | Rolex Triple Calendar "Padellone" · Christie's New York |
| 2015 | $1,418,000 | Rolex Cosmograph Daytona "Albino" · Phillips Geneva |
| 2016 | $2,466,793 | Rolex Split-Seconds Chronograph · Phillips Geneva |
| 2017 | $3,726,000 | Rolex Daytona 'The Legend' · Phillips Geneva |
| 2017 | $5,066,000 | Rolex Triple-Calendar Moonphase 'Bao Dai' · Phillips Geneva |
| 2017 | $17,752,500 | Rolex Daytona 'Paul Newman' · Phillips New York |
Rolex records by model
- Most expensive Rolex Daytona — $17,752,500 record · 40 results
- Most expensive Rolex Oyster Perpetual — $13,650,000 record · 6 results
- Most expensive Rolex GMT-Master — $1,952,000 record · 3 results
- Most expensive Rolex Submariner — $1,068,500 record · 10 results
The full Record Ledger Most expensive for sale right now Rolex hub Play HAMMER 🔨
Cite this record
Every figure above is a documented hammer price with a primary source on its lot page. Cite as “MostExpensiveWatches Record Ledger”, e.g.:
“The most expensive Rolex watch ever documented by MostExpensiveWatches is the Rolex Daytona 'Paul Newman' ref. 6239, which realized $17,752,500 at Phillips New York in 2017 — the top of 79 documented results totaling $201,336,961.” — MostExpensiveWatches, October 2026. https://mostexpensivewatches.net/most-expensive/rolex
Machine-readable: /data/records.json · See also the Grail Index and the daily Price Index.