Rolex Daytona, the legendary sports chronograph of the watch world, has been introduced with its ceramic bezel update at the Baselworld 2016. Right after the news, I wrote an article about my expectations regarding the old and the new version. It’s been a year over that article so let’s see what I have told and what has happened?
“Paul Newman’s Daytona" news winds up on all web sites about watches and social media nowadays. Daytona, which has been a center of attraction for almost all watch enthusiasts for years, continues to rapidly increase its popularity especially after this news. The news about that watch with the reference 6239, which is supposed to belong to the legendary actor Paul Newman, being offered for sale by the famous auction house Phillips in October, created a bomb effect in the industry. We would not be surprised to see that watch being sold for a greater figure than Ref.6062 “Bao Dai”’s.
Rolex Daytona Ref.6239 - Paul Newman
Upon the release of the stainless steel model Rolex Daytona with the ceramic bezel update, many watchmakers -including myself- ran to the dealers. In addition to this situation, I also believed that the interest in the old version will increase. As expected, we saw hundreds of watch enthusiasts ready to pay a price above the MSRP for the new Daytona offered for sale in June. At first, the prices for the new model went up to 20.000 EURs. In a short while, the figures became steady at 16 – 17.000 EUR range. Of course, this situation was costly for those who want to have this beautiful watch before everyone.
It is not difficult to estimate the profile of the people who got the new Daytona by paying those figures. In the same way, the ones who sold the watches at those prices were also obvious. The first profile was the "gray market" dealers who had good relations with the Rolex dealers and were able to get the watch before the end users. The second are the users who succeeded in having the watch in a certain way and sold afterwards for a small profit. It is not possible to understand the people who prefer to sell such an important and rare timepiece for a little amount of profit instead of wearing it. A watch is of course a product that can be bought and sold. And of course, you are free to do whatever you want after you have it. But as a watch enthusiast I am absolutely opposed to such exchanges.
I witnessed a remarkable number of new Daytona models being sold for figures more than the actual MSRP. I might say that those figures were in the 13 – 14000 EUR range. If you cannot get the new stainless steel Daytona through the dealers or you just don’t want to wait, it is possible for you to come across the samples sold at the price range mentioned above. On the other hand, the figures over that range are totally exaggerated.
When we look at the article I wrote last year, I guess I was pretty accurate about my assumptions. At the end of the day, these estimates were not only mine but common expectations of almost everyone who spent time in the world of watches. The market did not surprise us.
Now let’s go to the other side and see what the situation is with the stainless steel model that we can call "the old version". Have you ever seen a brand new Rolex Daytona with “all stickers intact” recently? Obviously I have not. If I had, I would buy it without a second thought. I have seen only a few examples in good condition with an asking price around 12,000 EUR. The truth is, same models could be had for 9,000 EUR range before Baselworld 2016. Even lower considering the models priced accordingly to the condition, production year etc., but it’s not possible anymore. If you come across a brand new stainless steel Daytona (steel bezel version) with all factory wraps intact, be sure to grab it (if its fits your budget of course).
I wanted to have a look at the changes happened about the stainless steel Rolex Daytona a year after the new version’s launch. Nowadays, I think that the new versions are settled at a certain price range. There may be some relaxation in the prices but I do not think they will increase. On the contrary, I believe that the old version will be valued and demanded more and more every day. Especially in these days as the Rolex Daytona is peaking in popularity.
