There are few phrases in watches more exciting than “Paul Newman’s Rolex.” And this Friday, there’s a double feature of the iconic actor’s watches coming to Sotheby’s. While neither of these pieces are likely to completely reorient vintage watch collecting—the way the Cool Hand Luke star’s $17.8 million Daytona did in 2017—both watches prove that Newman was lightyears ahead as a collector.
One of the most important attributes a watch hoping to go bananas at auction can have isn’t necessarily the material it's made out of or a highly technical movement inside, but an association with Newman. In addition to the $17.8 million Daytona with what’s known as an “exotic” dial (initially an underloved variation that Newman Midas touched—it’s now known as “the Paul Newman” Daytona), another piece from the actor sold in 2020. This “Big Red” Daytona, named for the large crimson text writing out the piece’s name, reached $5.5 million. The pair coming up for auction this week are also stunners, both with (conservative) high-end estimates of $1 million.
“These watches transcend watch collecting,” Leigh Safar, the head of important watches at Sotheby’s, told me over the phone this week. Newman, Safar says, was “someone who changed the way we see watches and changed the conversation around watch collecting.” As she puts it, Newman was like the original influencer. Your parents went to see his movies because he was on the poster, generations have purchased salad dressing with his smiling face on the bottle, and watch collectors have long chased the pieces he favored. “He reached so many people. I’m honestly so shocked at how he was able to do that without the touch of an iPhone button,” Safar added. The next owner(s) of these watches are lucky enough to live in the 21st century, where flexing their new Newman watches won’t present as many hurdles.
But beyond the ties to Newman, what makes these particular pieces so special? Let’s take a closer look at both.
Last December, I wrote a story probing the idea of whether or not the “Zenith” Daytonas were the next grail watch. The watch, named for its movement made by watch brand Zenith, was produced in the ‘90s and ticks every box necessary to become the next coveted model. “When a lot of clients got priced out of the modern Daytonas they wanted to go for something that was a little bit different or unique,” Safar said. Not to mention, at the same time, collectors were also finding prices on vintage Daytonas from the ‘60s climbing to unreachable heights. These pieces from the ‘90s, referred to as neo-vintage, became like Goldilocks’ porridge.
Newman’s “Zenith” Daytona was awarded to him when his racing team won the 24 Hours of Daytona in 1995. But Newman, ever the philanthropist, decided to include the watch in an auction in 1999, where it sold for… $39,000. (HAHAHAHA!) Although a relative pittance now, it was the best performing lot in that particular sale.
But Newman didn’t include the watch because he was necessarily keen on being rid of it. Either a family member or friend of Newman’s, according to Safar, knew how much he loved the watch and bought it at the sale only to give it back to him soon after.
While stainless steel sport watches like the one above have ruled the industry for years, the turn toward sparklier and more refined materials like white gold is happening rapidly. “A lot of people, for the past probably seven years or so, have been very fixated and focused on collecting stainless steel,” Safar said. “And not that they're getting sick of it, but I think collectors do want something that's just a little bit different.”
This Newman watch is just the right amount of a “little bit different”: it still comes with the sporty Daytona design but it’s encased in luxurious gold. It was the only Daytona he owned in a precious metal (read: not stainless steel).
The white-gold Daytona, which his wife Joanne gave him as a gift in 2006, is the last one the actor owned before he died two years later. It was a constant companion during those years: he wore it when Barbara Walters interviewed him in 2007, and again while driving his famous final laps at Lime Rock Park the following year.
As is always the case with these high-priced watches, it’s the minor details that make or break the eventual value. Joanne gave Newman three Daytonas throughout his life. The first was the record-shattering $17.8 Daytona, and the second was the $5.8 million “Big Red,” named for the red lettering on its dial. Both featured an engraving encouraging Newman to enjoy his racing hobby carefully. The first said “Drive Carefully Me,” the second “Drive Slowly Joanne.” This white-gold Daytona includes the phrase "Drive Very Slowly Joanne.” But as Safar points out, the script on this watch is crucially much more similar to the original watch than the second, with the word 𝒥𝑜𝒶𝓃𝓃𝑒 written out in cursive. It sounds crazy just typing that out, but it’s hard to stress how much that might matter to a potential buyer of this watch!
**Update 6/9: **On Friday morning, Newman's white-gold Daytona sold for $1,079,500 while the Zenith Daytona reached $1,143,000.
