A rare platinum Rolex is heading to auction and could fetch $1.7 million
A legendary and exceptionally rare platinum Rolex Daytona, crafted in 1999 as a private commission, is set to headline Sotheby's Geneva auction on Sunday with an estimated value of up to $1.7 million. The timepiece represents a profound anomaly in Rolex's history, being a custom-made model in platinum—a metal the brand did not officially use for Daytona watches until 2013.
Only four of these unique watches are known to exist, all made for the same family with different dials. The example at auction, featuring a mother-of-pearl face set with ten diamonds, is the final piece from the set to be offered for sale. Its predecessors have already commanded prices exceeding $3 million, underscoring the extraordinary premium for such a singular object in the collectible watch market.
The Allure of Rarity and Secrecy
The watch's mystique is amplified by its creation during the tenure of former Rolex CEO Patrick Heiniger, a period marked by the brand's transformation into a global luxury icon and notorious secrecy. "It's very unusual to come across a commission," said Pedro Reiser, senior watch specialist at Sotheby's, noting that Rolex almost never accommodates such private requests. While rumors have linked Heiniger personally to a similar platinum Daytona, Reiser cautions that this connection remains unverified and "more of a myth."
The historical significance lies in its material. When this watch was made, the Rolex Daytona was publicly available only in stainless steel, yellow gold, or white gold. The existence of a platinum model from 1999 makes it, according to Reiser, "the only known platinum Zenith Daytona" from that era, referring to the movement used by Rolex at the time. This pre-dates the brand's official platinum offerings by over a decade.
A Benchmark for Collectible Value
The auction will serve as a key test of the market's appetite for the ultimate combination of factors driving value in high-end watch collecting: legendary brand provenance, extreme rarity, unique materials, and a compelling backstory shrouded in corporate secrecy. The final price will not only reflect the worth of the object itself but also the intense competition among elite collectors for a piece that redefines the known boundaries of Rolex's production history.
