The Monaco-based auctioneer Monaco Legend Group specializes in rare and collectible timepieces. With watch veteran Davide Parmegiani, the business has developed and increased in revenue yearly. Today, Monaco Legend Group is one of the leading sources for collectors who want to obtain the finest watches in existence.
Related: John Lennon's $10 Million Patek Philippe Watch Found After 43 Years
The highly anticipated October auction featured 281 lots. A couple of watches were expected to sell in the low $1 million range, but the lead role belonged to the 1969 Rolex Daytona Ref. 6263, which fetched $1.9 million, including buyer’s premium. Known as the "Paul Newman", the Daytona became synonymous with the famous actor who often was seen with a Daytona on his wrist. For a Rolex Daytona to be known as a Paul Newman, it has to be a vintage timepiece with a special dial. A special feature of Paul Newman dials is the three-color combination of black, white, and red with chronograph registers and minute track rings in contrasting colors, which gives a bold and eye-catching appearance to the watch.
Related: Two of Paul Newman's Rolex Daytona Watches Go to Auction
The auction featured multiple Paul Newmans, which is incredibly rare on its own. But again, the start of the show was the $1.9 million watch, which has a striking tropical brown dial, giving it a very rare look compared to other Paul Newmans.
Talking about other Paul Newmans – Monaco Legend Group proudly offered two very fine Tiffany-stamped watches. For decades, Tiffany & Co.’s flagship store at Fifth Avenue has been an official retailer of many high-end watchmakers like Rolex and Patek Philippe. Today, they only sell Patek Philippe. An interesting detail about some of the watches they sell is that they are stamped “Tiffany & Co.”, meaning that a watch can have two brand names on the dial, e.g., Rolex and Tiffany. This is extremely rare and highly sought-after, making Tiffany-stamped watches much more valuable than they otherwise would be (without the additional Tiffany stamp.)
Related: The 10 Most Expensive Watches Ever Auctioned
Two striking examples of 1968 and 1969 Tiffany-stamped Rolex Daytona “Paul Newman” watches sold for $700,000 and $730,000, respectively. Notably, the ninth most expensive watch ever sold was a Tiffany-stamped Patek Philippe Nautilus Ref. 5711/1A-018, which sold for $6.5 million in 2021. Pretty impressive for a watch that retails for $52,000!
