The Story Behind One Of The Most Covetable Watches In The World: The 'Lemon' Paul Newman Daytona

R olex fans are one of the most steadfast watchmaking communities in the world. True aficionados fondly nickname their personal favourites with playful appellations – ‘Hulk’, ‘Kermit’, ‘Pepsi’, ‘Coke’ and so on. Yet you might not expect to hear the word ‘Lemon’ being used in the same sentence as a fine Rolex. There is, however, an exception when one very special example of watchmaking history enters the conversation.

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Across vintage Rolex-collecting, there are levels, and then there are further layers within those levels. Sitting within the upper echelon, considered the holy grail for many collectors, is the 'Lemon' Paul Newman Daytona. Its illustrious history and connection with such a celebrated individual are just a few reasons why it has been so revered since the 1980s. In fact, the variant is so distinguished that in recent times, the late actor’s name has been dropped from the watch’s vernacular, leaving it commonly referred to simply as ‘PN’.

'Across vintage Rolex-collecting, there are levels, and then there are layers within those levels. Sitting at the upper echelon, considered the holy grail for many collectors, is the Paul Newman Daytona'

But this acclaim was some time coming for the 'Lemon' Daytona. In fact, by Rolex standards, its beginnings were rocky. While the Daytona is today very much associated with motorsports, at its launch, it was Rolex’s hope for the stars. But this ‘cosmograph’ - a chronograph designed for astronauts’ use in space – faced stiff competition during the mid-1960s from Omega's Speedmaster. And any hopes of making it into space, on Apollo 11's mission to the moon in July 1969. were finally totally dashed when NASA chose to use the Speedy. (In the event, the Omega's electronics were unable to handle the lunar atmosphere, forcing Neil Armstrong to leave it in the lunar module while he went on his historic two-hour moonwalk).

The Daytona was a slow seller at the outset, with Rolex rapidly attempting to stimulate interest with a revamped dial. Believed to be in a ratio of 1:20, the Daytona’s rebooted ‘exotic’ dial saw a distinct triple-coloured face with a ‘step’, and sub-dials featuring Art-Deco numerals and square indexes. This would later be known as the ‘Paul Newman’ dial.

Spanning across six references – 6239, 6241, 6262, 6264, 6263, and 6265 – the Paul Newman moniker stemmed from the 6239, which the screen star’s wife Joanne Woodward had gifted him. She had had the case back engraved ‘DRIVE CAREFULLY ME’, as a pointed reference to his love of racing cars.

Newman’s obsession with racing was the spark in Rolex’s shift from NASA to NASCAR, a pivotal moment in the Daytona’s subsequent success. While it was not planned - Newman was not an official ambassador, nor compensated in any capacity by Rolex – it was his genuine affinity for the watch that imbued it with a cachet money could simply not buy – here was a cool guy, doing cool things, wearing a watch just because he genuinely liked it.

Paul Newman in the audience at Madison Square Garden. (Photo by NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images) New York Daily News Archive/NY Daily News via Getty Images

Although the common story has it that Italian style watchers picked up on Newman’s Rolex after seeing him wearing it in a fashion magazine - the catalyst for the naming of the reference, as well as the frenzy that followed - it is a safe bet that the exotic dial iteration of the Daytona would have still reached its current prestigious status, even without the spotlight in Europe.

With its limited production run, all Paul Newman Daytona references are rare, but it is the batch that followed after the 6239 and 6241 (acrylic bezel) that is considered the rarest of the lot. The transitional 6262 and 6264, succeeded the aforementioned Paul Newman Daytona watches, and were almost identical, minus the fact that they were fitted with an updated Valjoux calibre 727 movement and produced for an extremely (and I mean extremely) short period of time. Now, factor in the fact that only a small percentage of the reference 6264s were made in 18k gold, and then go another step further and take into account that an even smaller fraction of those gold versions had what is regarded as the ‘Lemon’ dial – and you will understand how there are currently less than 11 known examples.

Yet, for the first time this century, a ‘Lemon’ dial 6264 is being sold in the UK. As part of Sotheby’s September Fine Watches sale in London, this example from 1970 bears all the hallmarks of a highly-prized collectible watch, and amongst its other documented references, is a true unicorn find.

Tom Heap, Watches Specialist at Sotheby's in London comments, ‘When we are looking at watches of this pedigree, we are really considering three things: condition, rarity, and provenance.’ Ticking all the boxes, the example in question features a robust case with chunky lugs, the gold has a strong patina from years of storage (meaning it was well kept by its current owner for quite some time) and comes from a well-established collector.

‘This is probably one of the finest condition examples of a Paul Newman you are likely to come across, and that’s not even taking its rarity into account’

- Tom Heap, Specialist, Sotheby's

‘This is probably one of the finest condition examples of a Paul Newman you are likely to come across, and that’s not even taking its rarity into account,’ Heap asserts. ‘There isn’t much higher you can go in this realm of collecting’.

Distinguished by the uniquely coloured dial, this watch is a perfect example of how finely-nuanced details can play a crucial role in collecting Rolexes. Although the contrast is much more obvious when a Champagne and a Lemon dial are placed side-by-side, one of the clear differences can be found in the shade of yellow. While some dials have been described to pop or ‘jump’ out at the wearer, the 'Lemon' smoothly radiates. And on closer inspection, it doesn’t have a smooth, flat surface – but rather, a grèné texture, giving it a rind-like finish. The markings on the sub dials are also found in pristine white, rather than the customary gilt lettering seen on the Champagne reference.

As a watch that sold for close to $750,000 USD back in 2018, and then over the $2 million USD mark in 2022, this upcoming lot could very well see another record hammer price. Having survived a tumultuous introduction to the market, when it was sold for hundreds of dollars to now becoming one of the most collectible watches for the last two decades, it is easy to see that this Lemon is anything but, well - a lemon.