Catawiki celebrates 120 years of Rolex with rare, collector-grade watches running from 14 to 23 November
Three extraordinary Rolexes up for auction, including a legendary Paul Newman Daytona
Amsterdam, 17 November - Rolex needs no introduction. It has been the most searched term on Catawiki for three consecutive years, and in 2025, that interest shows no sign of slowing down. With two months to go, searches for Rolex have already matched the full-year total of 2024. Watches are once again among the platform’s top three best-selling categories, with Italian buyers leading the charge. As the brand celebrates its 120th anniversary, Rolex remains the ultimate name in enduring watch legacy, where history, design and scarcity come together like nowhere else.
This November, Catawiki, the leading online marketplace for special objects, celebrates this centennial benchmark with flair. Rather than showcasing the usual suspects, the auction features three rare pieces that collectors usually only whisper about. Each one is a conversation starter, an investment in time, and a reminder that iconic status often comes from unexpected details.
The Paul Newman effect
At the heart of the auction is a legend. The Rolex Daytona 6262, also known as the Paul Newman model, is far more than just a vintage watch. It tells the story of an actor, philanthropist and generation’s icon who turned a relatively unpopular Rolex into one of the most sought-after watches on the planet. When this reference was released in 1970, it struggled to attract attention. The Daytona line – named after the famous Florida racetrack and designed for professional drivers – was still a niche product. The so-called “exotic” dial variant was considered too small at the time. But one man changed everything.
Paul Newman, who was not only a Hollywood icon but also an amateur racing driver, began wearing a Daytona fitted with the very dial collectors now chase. He wasn’t paid to do it. He wasn’t part of a campaign. He simply loved the watch. Decades before influencer culture existed, Newman’s casual association with the Daytona made waves. Photos of him at the track and in magazines wearing the watch triggered quiet admiration that eventually built into obsession. In Italy, for example, collectors began scouring shops for “the Paul Newman”. Waiting lists formed, scarcity turned into mythology, and the rest is history.
Flanking the Daytona are two dazzling counterparts from the early 2000s. Both crafted in precious metals, both gemstone-studded, and both reimagine Rolex’s professional watchmaking through a lens of luxury and exclusivity.
The Watches
“When Rolex sent its pre-Daytona models to undergo NASA’s rigorous testing to select the watch for space missions, they did not pass all the tests, and Omega’s Speedmaster was ultimately chosen,” comments Joaquín Fernández Cebrián, watches expert at Catawiki. “Yet what science passed over, culture embraced: Paul Newman turned the same model into a symbol of effortless cool, decades before the word ‘influencer’ existed. The watches in this auction carry that same spirit, the proof that a timepiece’s legacy is often written far beyond technical settings.”
This exclusive Rolex auction runs from 14 to 23 November exclusively on Catawiki.
