A few days after the weekend of auctions with record-breaking figures that we experienced in Geneva, we are here to draw conclusions on 3 of the most noteworthy watches of recent times.
I am not talking about the price, although we could talk about that given the figures achieved. I am talking about the purpose these three knockout watches will (most likely) serve.
For those of you who did not follow Geneva auctions, I am referring to 3 very rare Rolexes sold last auction weekend for multi-million dollar sums. After reviewing them, we will reveal some rumors about the possible buyer of these three watches and try to speculate on the reason for the purchase.
Rolex Milgauss 6541
The first watch is a Rolex Milgauss ref. 6541 sold by the world-renowned auction house Phillips. It is a model that we could almost say NOS and which Phillips itself considers to be the best preserved in the history of the reference of this famous non-magnetic watch.
The Icing on the cake, this watch is a full set and includes the chronometer certificate, warranty, name tag, and presentation box.
Introduced in 1956, the Milgauss reference 6541 represents Rolex’s first watch dedicated to scientists, engineers, and technicians who worked with high magnetic fields in electro-industrial environments or scientific facilities.
The iconic “lightning” shaped seconds hand mounted above the honeycomb dial serves as a reminder of electromagnetism. This Milgauss example was sold for a total of 2.3 million euros.
Rolex Daytona 6270
The second watch is a Daytona reference 6270, also sold by the Phillips auction house. This is an incredible version of the crowned house’s iconic chronograph, produced in 1988. In my opinion, few words are needed to describe it.
In fact, I believe this watch is one of the most beautiful and fascinating timepieces in the vintage world. At the same time, it holds within one of the most beautiful mystery stories of the crowned house that I had the pleasure of discussing in a dedicated article.
Featuring a dial composed of brilliant-cut diamonds and a stunning baguette diamond bezel, this yellow gold Daytona sold for a whopping 3.7 million euros.
Rolex Daytona 6241 JPS
The last watch we discuss is the Rolex Daytona ref. 6241 “John Player Special”.
This hand-wound chronograph from Rolex, produced in 1969, owes its nickname to the dial’s evocation of the colors from the Team Lotus Formula One car sponsored by British tobacco John Player Special.
It is estimated that 3000 pieces were made of reference 6241, 300 of which had yellow gold cases.
Of these few hundreds only a small portion was equipped with the much coveted John Player Special dial. Preserved in excellent condition, like the other two watches mentioned above, this Daytona JPS was sold by the auction house Sotheby’s for a sum of 2.3 million euros.
Is Rolex building a museum?
Nowadays, in a world where technology almost seeks to supplant physical reality, I believe it is more important than ever to make a relentless effort to preserve beautiful and rare collectibles.
And it is through the creation of museums that some of the world’s most famous maisons, such as Patek Philippe and Omega, to name a couple, have allowed the world of enthusiasts to get in touch with all the models produced from their inception to the present.
Then again, thinking about it for a moment, a museum represents the quintessential place where history and rarity meet in the same place, allowing those who frequent it to come into contact with objects of unique fascination.
Even though Rolex has a crazy historical legacy to pass on, until now it almost seemed as if the vision of the maison was only projected into the future.
In addition, if nowadays you wanted information and certifications on Rolex’s past models, you would not have the opportunity to have an “archival excerpt” that many maisons attentive to their historical legacy offer to collectors.
By this, I in no way mean to say that Rolex is indifferent to its past. Surely hidden somewhere and not available to us mere mortals, there may be a museum being built complete with an archive of all models produced from its inception to the present.
Finally, we get to the gist of our argument. If until now it seemed that Rolex was not paying attention to its past, as a result of the Geneva auctions we are changing our minds.
Now all the dots connect. By the sound of bidding and show of hands in the room, the three watches we just mentioned were apparently bought by none other than Rolex itself.
At this point, you are rightly wondering how we can be sure that all three watches were bought by Rolex.
To answer the question, we can tell you that in Philipp Stahl’s article on Rolex Passion Report, the author confirmed that the watches were bought by the same lady. In the article, Stahl goes on to say that it is also known that this lady is famous for often acting and buying as a “Rolex representative.”
So, apparently, it seems to be safe news that these watches were bought by Rolex itself. At this point, one wonders why. We venture an answer: could it be that Rolex has finally decided to create its own publicly accessible museum?
One thing seems to be certain, even if the Rolex museum were only a distant mirage, the maison’s interest in tracking down watches of great rarity and in mint condition has taken the vintage market to an unprecedented level by setting three new records.
Final remarks
Certainly, putting your hand on the line for the possibility of a Rolex museum is highly risky.
Although we have been told that these three watches were bought by a mystery woman very close to Rolex, as with anything I feel that I cannot have certainty solely from “hearsay”.
Only following official communication from the maison (which I hope), we may finally announce the long-awaited opening of a Rolex museum.
For now, we can only hope for this new adventure by Rolex. We promise that should it be announced, we will let you know in advance.
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