A highly anticipated custom Rolex Cosmograph Daytona, expected to be the star lot at Sotheby’s Important Watches Part I auction, was unexpectedly withdrawn from the sale.
The auction took place on last Sunday in Geneva, but on Tuesday, Sotheby’s confirmed via email to National Jeweler that the Ref. 16516 Daytona, manufactured in 1998, was pulled at the consignor’s request.
This unique platinum Zenith-powered Daytona, valued between $850,000 and $1.7 million, was described by Sotheby’s as one of the most “elusive and compelling” automatic Daytonas ever discovered. The watch was part of a set of four Rolexes commissioned in the late 1990s by a single collector—rumored to be Patrick Heiniger, the former Rolex CEO who led the company from 1992 to 2008—predating the official availability of platinum Daytonas by over a decade.
The withdrawal of this rare Rolex follows a similar decision last month by Christie’s, where the owner of the “Golconda Blue,” a 23.24-carat blue diamond expected to headline its Magnificent Jewels sale, opted to keep the gem within the family rather than auction it. The diamond, set in a ring by renowned jeweler Joel Arthur Rosenthal, known as JAR, was estimated to fetch between $35 million and $50 million.
Despite the Rolex withdrawal, Sotheby’s Important Watches Part I auction saw a Patek Philippe Nautilus, Ref. 5711/1300A-001, emerge as the top seller. This stainless steel and diamond-set wristwatch from circa 2021, featuring a green dial, sold for 368,300 Swiss francs (approximately $440,000), within its estimated range.
Another notable sale was the Patek Philippe Aquanaut Travel Time, a white gold automatic wristwatch, which also sold within its estimate for 336,550 Swiss francs ($405,000).
The auction concluded with a total of 6.7 million Swiss francs ($8.1 million) in sales, with 78 percent of lots successfully finding new owners, according to market tracker Rapaport.
