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A few days after the weekend of auctions with record figures that we experienced in Geneva, we are here to sum up 3 of the most noteworthy watches of recent times.
I’m not just referring to the price, even if we could only talk about that given the figures reached, but I’m talking about the purpose that these three amazing watches will (most likely) serve.
For those of you who haven’t followed the Geneva auctions, I’m referring to 3 very rare Rolexes sold last auction weekend for multi-million dollar figures. After having reviewed them, we will reveal some rumors about the possible buyer of these three watches and we will try to hypothesize the reason for the purchase.
Rolex Milgauss 6541
The first watch is a Rolex Milgauss ref. 6541 sold by the world famous auction house Phillips. It is a model that we could almost define as NOS and that Phillips herself believes to be the best preserved in the history of the reference of this famous non-magnetic watch.
The icing on the cake for this watch is given by the fact that it is a full set example including the chronometer certificate, the guarantee, the tag and the presentation box.
Introduced in 1956, the Milgauss with reference 6541 represents the first Rolex watch dedicated to scientists, engineers and technicians who worked with high magnetic fields in electro-industrial environments or in scientific structures.
In reference to electromagnetism, there is the iconic seconds hand in the shape of a “lightning bolt” mounted above the honeycomb dial.
This Milgauss specimen was sold for a total of 2.3 million euros.
Rolex Daytona 6270
The second watch is a Daytona with reference 6270, also sold by the Phillips auction house. It is an incredible version of the iconic chronograph of the crowned house, produced in 1988. In my opinion, few words are needed to describe it.
In fact, I believe that this watch is one of the most beautiful and fascinating vintage timepieces of all. At the same time, it contains one of the most beautiful mysterious stories of the crowned house that I have had the pleasure of speaking about in a dedicated article.
Featuring a dial composed of brilliant-cut diamonds and an incredible bezel set with baguette diamonds, this yellow gold Daytona sold for a whopping 3.7 million euros.
Rolex Daytona 6241JPS
The last sold watch we are talking about is the Rolex Daytona ref. 6241 “John Player Special”.
This hand-wound chronograph from the crowned house, produced in 1969, owes its nickname to the dial’s reference to the colors of the Formula One car of Team Lotus sponsored by the British tobacco John Player Special.
It is estimated that 3,000 of this model with reference 6241 were made, of which only 300 with a yellow gold case.
Of these few hundreds, only a small fraction were fitted with the coveted John Player Special dial. Preserved in excellent condition, like the other two watches mentioned above, this Daytona JPS was sold by the Sotheby’s auction house for 2.3 million euros.
The Rolex Museum
Nowadays, in a world where technology almost tries to supplant physical reality, I believe it is more than ever necessary to carry out an unceasing work to preserve beautiful and rare collectibles.
Two adjectives that find their perfect collocation when associated with the world of watchmaking and which, in order for them to be known by future generations, must be preserved in the best possible way in order to be handed down as the cultural baggage of a world that has so much history to tell.
And it is thanks to the creations of museums that some of the most famous maisons in the world, 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 today.
On the other hand, thinking about it for a moment, a museum represents the place par excellence where history and rarity meet in the same place, allowing those who visit it to come into contact with objects of unique charm.
Although Rolex has a crazy historical legacy to hand down, until today it almost seemed that the vision of the maison was only projected towards the future.
Furthermore, if nowadays you want information and certifications on the models of the past that you may have, you do not have the possibility of having what is called an “archive extract” that many maisons attentive to their heritage historical offer to collectors.
With this I absolutely do not want to say that Rolex is indifferent to its past also because, surely hidden somewhere and not accessible to us mere mortals, there could be a museum under construction complete with an archive of all the models produced from its inception to Today.
Here, finally, we come to the gist of our discourse. If until today it seemed that Rolex was not attentive to its past, following the auctions in Geneva we are changing our minds.
Now all the dots connect. To the sound of raising offers and raising hands in the room, the three watches we have just talked about seem to have been bought by none other than Rolex itself.
At this point you are rightly wondering how we can be sure that all three were bought from Rolex.
In answer to the question we can tell you that in his article on the Rolex Passion Report, Philipp Stahl confirmed that the watches were bought by the same lady. It is also known that this lady is famous for having often acted and bought as a “Representative of Rolex”.
All elements that can suggest a possible future Rolex museum which, rightly so, will be made up of all the historical models of the maison as well as all the rarer models produced and which Rolex logically tries to find in the best conditions to be able to show to the public.
One thing seems to be certain, even if the Rolex museum were only a distant mirage, the maison’s interest in tracking down extremely rare watches in perfect condition has taken the vintage market to an unprecedented level, setting three new records.
Conclusions
Surely putting your hand on the fire for the hypothesis of a possible Rolex museum is highly risky.
Although we have learned that these three watches were bought by the mysterious woman very close to Rolex, as with everything, I believe I cannot be certain only from “hearsay”.
Only after an official communication from the maison (which I hope), we could finally announce the long-awaited opening of a Rolex museum.
For now, we just have to hope for this new adventure of the crowned house which, if it is announced, it will be our duty to let you know in preview.
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