GUTTER CREDITS118118 SEPTEMBER 2018OCTOBER 2019
Field NotesA
s a watch collector,
and the founder and
CEO of Bob’s Watches,
I often get inquiries
from people stumbling
upon timepieces that once belonged to
a family member. A few months back, I
received a call from a woman in Canada
about a watch she wanted to sell. As she
tells it, she was sitting on the couch one
day when she dropped her phone. She
stuck her hands in between the cushions
to retrieve it, but instead of her phone,
she pulled out a watch. Upon closer
inspection, she saw that it was a Rolex.
She turned to her 92-year-old father
and asked him if it was his, to which
he replied, “Of course that’s not mine.
You know I can’t afford a Rolex.” But
little did she and her father know
that very few people actually could
afford this particular watch. It turned
out to be a vintage Rolex Daytona 6241
“Paul Newman.”
In the world of vintage watches,
Rolex Daytona chronographs are
king. And the Paul Newman variants
of vintage Daytonas—characterized
by a very particular dial style—are
downright legendary. Paul Newman’s
very own Daytona broke the record for
the most expensive watch ever sold
at auction in 2017, with the hammer
coming down at $15.5 million (for a
total of $17.8 million with the buyer’s
premium). But even before that historic
sale, Daytona Paul Newman watches
were hot items in the vintage market,
built by Rolex in the 1960s, ’70s and
’80s and made famous by the film star
who wore one.
Rolex produced the manually wound
Daytona ref. 6241 from 1966 to 1969,
roughly. During this short three-year
period, fewer than 3,000 pieces of
the 6241 were made and just a small
percentage of those were fitted with
the “exotic dial” (that would later benicknamed the Paul Newman dial). As
with all collectibles, rarity and market
popularity are golden attributes when
dealing with vintage timepieces—and
the Paul Newman Daytona 6241 boasts a
combination of both.
So how exactly does a sofa magically
produce an ultra-rare and highly
desirable vintage chronograph? Turns
out the conjuring couch was purchased
for a whopping $25 at a thrift store four
years before the Daytona discovery.
The woman (who wishes to remain
anonymous) did dutifully call the store,
asking if anyone had inquired about a
missing watch or if they knew who had
been the previous owner (she wiselydidn’t disclose the brand to the person
handling the call).
As the sale of the couch was long in
the past, the thrift store had absolutely
no record of its previous owner, let
alone a way to get in contact with him or
her. So, once she realised the watch was
unlikely to be reclaimed, she set out to
research the timepiece in question.
She quickly understood how
valuable it was and reached out to usat so that she could sell it and put
the money to good use. She didn’t
want to risk mailing the Daytona
to our headquarters in Newport
Beach, Calif. She also didn’t have
the extra expendable income to take
an impromptu international trip
to Southern California to see us.
Instead, one of our vintage Rolex
experts hopped on a plane to visit
our new Canadian client. And the
watch was indeed a genuine vintage
Rolex Daytona 6241 Paul Newman,
worth north of $250,000.
A quarter of a million dollars is a
life-changing sum for most people,
and finding a Paul Newman Daytonain a thrift- store couch is easily one
of the craziest stories I’ve come
across. When asked what she would
do with her newfound fortune, the
woman replied that she would “buy
a house and get a boob job.”Paul Altieri owns Bob’s Watches,
a pre-owned Rolex e-tailer and the
company behind YouTube’s Watch in
the Box series.How exactly does a sofa magically produce
an ultra-rare vintage chronograph?
PAUL ALTIERI
Sitting on a
$250,000 Rolex
WATCHESIt may be time to go treasure hunting
beneath the cushions of your couch.118 OCTOBER 2019
Field NotesA
s a watch collector,
and the founder and
CEO of Bob’s Watches,
I often get inquiries
from people stumbling
upon timepieces that once belonged to
a family member. A few months back, I
received a call from a woman in Canada
about a watch she wanted to sell. As she
tells it, she was sitting on the couch one
day when she dropped her phone. She
stuck her hands in between the cushions
to retrieve it, but instead of her phone,
she pulled out a watch. Upon closer
inspection, she saw that it was a Rolex.
She turned to her 92-year-old father
and asked him if it was his, to which
he replied, “Of course that’s not mine.
You know I can’t afford a Rolex.” But
little did she and her father know
that very few people actually could
afford this particular watch. It turned
out to be a vintage Rolex Daytona 6241
“Paul Newman.”
In the world of vintage watches,
Rolex Daytona chronographs are
king. And the Paul Newman variants
of vintage Daytonas—characterized
by a very particular dial style—are
downright legendary. Paul Newman’s
very own Daytona broke the record for
the most expensive watch ever sold
at auction in 2017, with the hammer
coming down at $15.5 million (for a
total of $17.8 million with the buyer’s
premium). But even before that historic
sale, Daytona Paul Newman watches
were hot items in the vintage market,
built by Rolex in the 1960s, ’70s and
’80s and made famous by the film star
who wore one.
Rolex produced the manually wound
Daytona ref. 6241 from 1966 to 1969,
roughly. During this short three-year
period, fewer than 3,000 pieces of
the 6241 were made and just a small
percentage of those were fitted with
the “exotic dial” (that would later benicknamedthePaulNewmandial).As
withallcollectibles,rarityandmarket
popularityaregoldenattributeswhen
dealingwithvintagetimepieces—and
thePaulNewmanDaytona 6241 boastsa
combinationofboth.
Sohowexactlydoesa sofamagically
produceanultra-rareandhighly
desirablevintagechronograph?Turns
outtheconjuringcouchwaspurchased
fora whopping$25ata thriftstorefour
yearsbeforetheDaytonadiscovery.
Thewoman(whowishestoremain
anonymous)diddutifullycallthestore,
askingif anyonehadinquiredabouta
missingwatchorif theyknewwhohad
beenthepreviousowner(shewiselydidn’tdisclosethebrandtotheperson
handlingthecall).
Asthesaleofthecouchwaslongin
thepast,thethriftstorehadabsolutely
norecordofitspreviousowner,let
alonea waytogetincontactwithhimor
her.So,oncesherealisedthewatchwas
unlikelytobereclaimed,shesetoutto
researchthetimepieceinquestion.
Shequicklyunderstoodhow
valuableit wasandreachedouttousat so that she could sell it and put
the money to good use. She didn’t
want to risk mailing the Daytona
to our headquarters in Newport
Beach, Calif. She also didn’t have
the extra expendable income to take
an impromptu international trip
to Southern California to see us.
Instead, one of our vintage Rolex
experts hopped on a plane to visit
our new Canadian client. And the
watch was indeed a genuine vintage
Rolex Daytona 6241 Paul Newman,
worth north of $250,000.
A quarter of a million dollars is a
life-changing sum for most people,
and finding a Paul Newman Daytonain a thrift- store couch is easily one
of the craziest stories I’ve come
across. When asked what she would
do with her newfound fortune, the
woman replied that she would “buy
a house and get a boob job.”Paul Altieri owns Bob’s Watches,
a pre-owned Rolex e-tailer and the
company behind YouTube’s Watch in
the Box series.How exactly does a sofa magically produce
an ultra-rare vintage chronograph?
PAUL ALTIERI
Sitting on a
$250,000 Rolex
WATCHESIt may be time to go treasure hunting
beneath the cushions of your couch.