This Woman Found a Rare $250,000 Rolex Beneath the Cushions of Her Couch

[GURPS]

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 be nicknamed 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.

https://robbreport.com/style/watch-collector/rare-paul-newman-rolex-daytona-2870019/

 

[PeoplesElbow]

Buying a house and getting a boob job with the proceeds, her dad is in his 90's, she sounds kinda old for a new set of bolt-ons.

 

[PrchJrkr]

Whatever makes her feel good about herself. Maybe she's getting the upgrade as a gift to someone else.

 

[nutz]

she sounds kinda old for a new set of bolt-ons.

Nope, never....what if she’s sixty and has a 45 year old lover (dont laugh, I know 2 women in that boat)? What if she doesnt want to wear a bra anymore? According to a few relatives, a desire to be attractive to a partner (or potential one) doesnt go away with age. Hell, one of them (81) couldn’t decide which girlfriend to settle down with, the sex toy or the homemaker. He ditched the homemaker to keep his options open

 

[PrchJrkr]

Indeed! That's what I'm thinking. Nothing wrong with upgrading the headlights to LED.

 

[SamSpade]

Ok, this has always baffled me - what makes a Rolex so expensive? It's not as though it's more "accurate" than your typical slightly expensive watch - and honestly most younger folks I know use their phone as a clock.

Are Rolexes studded with gold and jewels? What's the deal?

 

[PrchJrkr]

IMHO, they are acquired for the "bling" factor. A sign of your ability to live frivolously. I'd rather have a nice set of tatas to admire and nuzzle, than a shiny bauble! On the plus side, they are a good investment. There are others out there willing to pay the price, should you need to get rid of it to make that yacht payment.

 

[kom526]

I prefer Tag Heuer watches. Can't justify the expense, but I'd rather have a Tag.

 

[PeoplesElbow]

Ok, this has always baffled me - what makes a Rolex so expensive? It's not as though it's more "accurate" than your typical slightly expensive watch - and honestly most younger folks I know use their phone as a clock.

Are Rolexes studded with gold and jewels? What's the deal?

Before quartz movements the accuracy, smoothness, and how long watches would go without being wound depend on the jewels inside. Actual jewels were used as bearing surfaces, you would see watches advertised by how many jewels they had. The remainder of the innards were also very precisely made, which increased the cost.

While they are pretty expensive to make the price is inflated because they are collectible, modifying a Rolex, even with expensive stuff like diamonds and gold, actually will decrease the value because it's no longer original.

 

[Spitfire]

Greetings:

Perhaps a late addition to this post, but it's an area I know a lot about as I'm a watch collector. I have a several Rolexes, including two different Daytonas, but none as rare and valuable as the subject here.

With respect to Rolex, they are expensive at this particular moment because manufacturing is constrained. I'm not privy to why Rolex does this, except for perhaps the obvious reason to keep prices up. It's created quite an interesting market situation: second-hand prices are significantly higher than new retail prices. This applies to their "sport watch" line most generally, Submariner divers, Explorers, etc.

If you can find one at an authorized dealer, chances are good you won't even be able to walk in and plunk down cash and walk away with it. Why? Because unless you have a long-established relationship with that dealer, they will assume you're looking to flip it and sell it right away on the secondary market for a handsome profit. Authorized Dealers are not allowed under any circumstance to sell above retail prices, so the supply constraints ensure you can make an immediate profit by flipping the watch right away. You'll often be told you can buy the particular watch you want (if a dealer has it) iff you purchase one of the less popular ones, like a ladies one for example.

There are a couple of Rolexes I'm looking to add to my collection. I travel for work regularly and scour dealers the world over and I'm not able to get what I want. The general rule is if you fancy a particular Rolex and you see it at a dealer, purchase it immediately because it's not likely you'll see it again any time soon.

As far as accuracy - certainly quartz watches are more accurate. But an automatic which loses let's say 3 seconds a day is still ~99.997% accurate. Not too shabby. "Certified Chronometers" are guaranteed by the Swiss organization (COSC) which governs the certification to be within +/- 2-3 seconds per day or so. Often times, depending on how the movement is adjusted, it will be within +/- 1 second a day. Just like automobiles, some are built better than others and you just get lucky.

I fell in love with mechanical/automatic watches when I inherited by Grandfather's Omega Railmaster from the 1950s. They truly are amazing machines.

 

[GURPS]

Thanks

 

[Spitfire]

Greetings:

Here's a similar Daytona as seen on Antiques Road Show.

 

[PrchJrkr]

I think wearing a watch in this day and age is a frivolous expenditure that makes the wearer look like someone who needs vindication of their miserable existence.

Open your damned flip phone if you really need to know what time or day it is.

Plus, bumping a two year old thread makes a person look silly.

 

[Sneakers]

Plus, bumping a two year old thread is a feeble attempt at spamming.

:fixed:

 

[Kyle]

Uhm.... I'm guessing I'm missing something here. :scratchinghead:

 

[Sneakers]

Uhm.... I'm guessing I'm missing something here. :scratchinghead:

Someone dredged up this old thread to push a knockoff watch website with a very non-US web address. Vrai caught it and deleted it in short order.

 

[RoseRed]

Someone dredged up this old thread to push a knockoff watch website with a very non-US web address. Vrai caught it and deleted it in short order.

 

[PeoplesElbow]

Let's get back to the important part of the discussion, a new set of bolt-ons.

 

[Clem72]

Greetings:

Here's a similar Daytona as seen on Antiques Road Show.

I'm not a watch guy but that was pretty cool.

 

[Kyle]

Unless there are some like James Bond had with lasers, poison darts and garrotes, I'm not buying another watch.