From Family Drawer to World Record: A Rare Rolex Story | Sotheby's
6 Video Views·Jul 17, 2026
For more than four decades, it sat quietly in a family drawer. Two sisters inherited the watch from their father, assumed it was simply part of the estate, and almost left it there. One email to Sotheby’s Head of Watches EMEA, Mikael Wallhagen, changed everything.
What emerged was one of the rarest Rolex Daytonas ever to appear at auction: a yellow gold reference 6239 fitted with the coveted Paul Newman dial, believed to be one of fewer than ten known. As bidding intensified in Geneva, the watch surpassed its estimate, sold for CHF 900,000, and set a new world record for the reference. It's a reminder that remarkable objects don't always announce themselves. Sometimes they've been waiting in a drawer all along.
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I mean, honestly, it's one of the most important watches I've ever seen.
So I received this email from two sisters, and they explained to me that they found this watch in a drawer.
They said they inherited it from their father, and it's always been stuffed with their mother in a drawer for more than 45 years.
When I saw this email with a picture of the watch, and I saw that that's an amazing watch, I really, really want to see that watch tomorrow.
I met with both of the sisters, and I was able to see this amazing watch.
It's a time capsule. The dial is untouched.
So this is a Rolex Daytona 6239, the first reference of the Daytona that was launched 1963.
Basically, the whole reference is made in 14,000 pieces.
The gold version is made in 300 pieces.
And what's special with this very watch is that it comes with a Paul Newman dial.
And with the Paul Newman dial, less than 10 pieces are known.
The sister really felt that they won the lottery.
To make it to the May sale in Geneva, we had to move very quickly.
Coming to the sale room, we had a lot of interest from all over the world.
Let me open the bidding at 300,000.
We had people in the room.
In the room, thank you, for 50.
Many people on the phones.
650.
We had also absentee bids.
650 on the telephone.
Being in the sale room is very emotional for a specialist,
especially when you have this kind of consignment from a private family
who didn't know exactly what they had.
The watch had an estimate between 300,000 to 600,000 Swiss francs.
700.
800 online.
850.
900 online.
The watch finally hammered at 900,000.
Adjugé. Big congratulations to battle 615.
The world record for gold for Newman, reference 6239.
Believe it or not, but maybe the next world record is sitting in your drawer.
Let us help you to find out.