The first Rolex Daytona ‘Rainbow’ watch ever will be auctioned and is expected to sell for more than US$3.5 million (Rp53 billion).
This Rolex from the 1990s will be auctioned in Geneva on November 8th. In an unusual move, auction house Phillips decided not to set a high estimated value for the item, but expects its price to reach at least 3 million Swiss francs (Rp54 billion).
According to Philips, the watch is believed to be the first example to feature the now-famous ‘rainbow’ pattern produced by the Swiss watchmaker.
This watch, which has colorful Sapphire gems around its bezel, has been in a private collection for almost two decades.
” This watch is a big thing, ” Alexandre Ghotbi, head of watches for Europe and the Middle East at Phillips, said in an interview. Only a few Rolex collectors knew of its existence, he added.
These sales come at a challenging time for the industry as demand for expensive watches has declined due to high inflation, after an incredible surge in the Covid era.
Nevertheless, rare and unique models of the Swiss brand remain in demand. In May last year, Phillips sold a Rolex 6270 Cosmograph Daytona from 1988 with a dial and bezel decorated with diamonds for almost 4 million Swiss francs (Rp72 billion).
The creation of the Rainbow Daytona marks an important moment in Rolex’s history as it demonstrates the brand’s ability to create ultra-luxury jewellery watches using innovative gem-tuning techniques, Ghotbi said. At the time the watch was made, around 1993 or 1994, Rolex was still seen as the maker of luxury sports watches such as the steel Submariner diving watch.
Although this ‘Rainbow’ watch was made as a one-of-a-kind in the 1990s for a client in the Middle East, the same sapphire gem pattern was later used again on some Daytona models almost two decades later.
Today, the rainbow jewel tuning style can also be found on models from other luxury brands such as Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet. This technique remains very difficult, in part because it requires stones with precise color gradations to imitate the rainbow pattern.
Although still rare and very challenging to obtain from retailers, The Rainbow Daytona has now become one of the hallmarks in the Rolex model collection.