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50 Daytonas and 50 record prices: The Christie’s Daytona auction

Sold out! All 50 lots from the Christie's Daytona anniversary auction found new owners on Sunday; and as if that weren't enough, a new auction record price was achieved for each individual Rolex Daytona.

The Christie's auctioneer Aurel Bacs finished the evening in Geneva's Four Seasons Hotel on top form. With casual quips to amuse the audience, the Daytona specialist kept the auction buzzing throughout, but his job was made easier by the fact that from the very first early Rolex Daytona 'Underline Double-Swiss' the surge of record results began.

Daytona hunting

As the 400 guests filed into the room, they stopped to pay particular attention to one very special watch: Lot 23, the Rolex Daytona (Ref 6263), better known as 'Oyster Sotto'. The 1969 timepiece with its special dial, quite different from all other 'Paul Newman' examples, excelled with a final bid of 989,000 Swiss Francs - a staggering 589,000 Swiss Francs over its estimate.

All in all, this sale will go down in the history of watch auctions: one sale, with 50 Rolex Daytonas from five decades. Congratulations, Christie's!

Photos: Christie's

 

Rolexes of all types can be found in the Classic Driver Market.