Up for Sale: The Original Paul Newman Daytona

Continuing its fantastic 2017 auction season, Phillips is back with another historic timepiece that is sure to break records.

Paul Newman (Photo by Douglas Kirkland/Corbis via Getty Images)

A Rolex Paul Newman Daytona is essentially the Holy Grail for a majority of watch collectors. That’s why when Phillips announced an auction of Paul Newman’s personal Paul Newman Daytona, major collectors everywhere grabbed their checkbooks to prepare for October 26.

As Watch Journal readers know, what distinguishes a Rolex Daytona as a Paul Newman Daytona is the dial. Hallmarks of the exotic dial configuration include art deco–style numerals and square-shaped five-second subdial markers. The watches themselves remained unnoticed for years before developing a cult following after various magazines published photos of Newman wearing the wristwatch. Ever since, the value for these exotic-dial Daytonas has skyrocketed, with Newman’s own model expected to reach a sum of more than $1 million.

The watch is projected to sell for over one million dollars.

The watch is inscribed with “Drive Carefully Me” on its caseback, a note from Newman’s wife Joanne Woodward, who gave him the watch to remind him to be cautious while driving. It was subsequently given by Newman to his daughter’s then-boyfriend James Cox, who has worn it ever since. Daughter Nell Newman and Cox jointly decided to put it up for auction this year, with proceeds benefiting the Nell Newman Foundation and Newman’s Own Foundation.

The auction will take place on Thursday, October 26, 2017, at 450 Park Avenue in New York City.

The caseback is inscribed with a note from Paul Newman’s wife.

The off-white dial is expertly contrasted by the black-and-red minute track.

The only difference between a normal Daytona and a Paul Newman Daytona is the exotic dial.