Paul Newman and Rolex Daytona are two names that simply belong together. The whole world has known this since October 26, 2017, because that was when Newman's Daytona Ref. 6239, which he received as a gift from his wife, actress Joanne Woodward, in 1968, achieved a price of $17.8 million, becoming the most expensive watch in auction history at the time.
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The high price was based on the fact that it was Newman's first Rolex Daytona, which he wore privately, but also in motor racing and even on the big screen. So much so that Daytonas with a cream-colored Exotic dial are known as the "Paul Newman". Joanne also had it engraved with a very personal dedication “Drive carefully. Me." Nevertheless, Newman, generous as ever, gifted the watch to his daughter's boyfriend at the time, James Cox, who had the watch auctioned at Phillips in New York in 2017.
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While the Ref. 6239 is the most famous Rolex Daytona that Paul Newman owned throughout his life, it wasn't the only one. In 1983 he received another gift from Joanne, a Ref. 6263 "Big Red," which he liked immensely, which is perhaps why he gave his 'old' Daytona to James Cox. After Newman's death in 2008, the "Big Red" became the property of his daughter Clea Newman Soderlund, who had it auctioned off for a good cause in 2020. The price achieved at the auction in London was just under $5.5 million. This watch was also lovingly engraved by Joanne: “Drive slowly. Joanne".
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Joanne Woodward's concern for her racing-loving husband does not seem to have diminished over the years, for another Rolex Daytona (Red. 116519) from ca. 2006, which she gave to Paul Newman in later years, bears an inscription on the back: "Drive very slowly. Joanne".
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The watch is one of two Rolex Daytona Cosmographs formerly owned by Paul Newman to be offered at Sotheby's Important Watches sale in New York on June 9. The second, a ca. 1993 Ref. 16520 "Zenith" Daytona, is also a gift, but this time not from Joanne. It was given to Newman at the Le Mans 24 Hours sponsored by Rolex when he was named Man of the Year, as commemorated by the engraving on the case back: "Rolex at Daytona 24 Paul Newman Rolex Motorsports Man of the Year 1995."
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The auction of the two Rolex watches, each estimated at $500,000-$1,000,000, is related to Sotheby's two current online auctions, collectively titled "The World of Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman" with around 300 objects belonging to the couple.
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