Paul Newman Daytonas, as they are known by the community, are defined by their Art Deco style dial type, officially known as an "exotic dial" and were rumored to appear in as few as 1 in 20 manual winding Daytona models, from the 1960's into the 1980's. These watches went unloved by the market for some years, until the late 1980's, when the term "Paul Newman" was coined by a group of Italian watch dealers and collectors, (after Paul Newman was photographed on a number of occasions wearing his own ref 6239). Since then we have seen the appetite and market for Paul Newmans explode in value.

In terms of rarity, there are few watches in the Rolex production catalogue that can match the combinations of the Lemon dial Paul Newman. The reference 6264 was produced only for a short period year between late 1969 and late 1971 and was the last Daytona reference to feature pump pushers. Few models were produced in yellow gold and even fewer with the “Exotic” Lemon dial. This places this watch in a stratospheric level of rarity, with less than 11 known examples to have come to market, nearly all of which are from the same serial range of 2,357,xxx, as is the present watch.

Rarer still is when a Daytona surfaces in the level of condition as the present one, which displays full factory proportions with few if any signs of polishing and a virtually spotless dial. Additionally, this watch has an undamaged and fully present set of lume plots, including those at 3 and 9 o'clock which are often the most easily damaged when removing the dial.

The case displays an attractive dark hue along the 9 o’clock case band, caused by the impurities in 18k yellow gold oxidizing. This happens over a long period and does not often build up in the same fashion, unless left latent in a cold dark space, often that of a safe or secure deposit box.

This is the first Lemon Paul Newman Daytona offered in the United Kingdom this century and offers a fantastic and an exceptionally rare opportunity to crown a collection with a watch with a level of condition that is matched only by its intrinsic rarity.