Custom Rolex Pulled From Sotheby’s Sale
The one-of-a-kind platinum Rolex Cosmograph Daytona was estimated to fetch up to $1.7 million.

The auction took place Sunday in Geneva.
In an email to National Jeweler Tuesday morning, Sotheby’s confirmed the watch, a Ref. 16516 made in 1998, was withdrawn at the request of the consignor.
Estimated to sell for between $850,000 and $1.7 million, the one-of-a-kind Rolex is one of the most “elusive and compelling” automatic Daytonas ever discovered, Sotheby’s said.
The platinum Zenith-powered Daytona was one of four Rolexes commissioned in a single order by the same collector (rumored to be the late Patrick Heiniger, Rolex’s CEO from 1992 to 2008) in the late ‘90s, more than a decade before Daytonas were even made available in platinum.
The news of this rare Rolex being pulled from auction follows the withdrawal of another high-value auction item last month.
According to Christie’s, the owner of the “Golconda Blue,” a 23.24-carat blue diamond set to headline its Magnificent Jewels sale today, decided to sell it within the family instead of putting it up for auction.
Set in a ring by Joel Arthur Rosenthal, better known as JAR, the diamond was estimated to sell for $35 million to $50 million.
The top lot of Sotheby’s Important Watches Part I sale, according to its website, was a Patek Philippe Nautilus, Ref. 5711/1300A-001.
The stainless steel and diamond-set wristwatch, circa 2021, with a green dial sold for 368,300 CHF ($440,000), within its expected range.
It was followed by a Patek Philippe Aquanaut Travel Time white gold automatic wristwatch, which also sold within its estimate, achieving CHF 336,550 ($405,000).
The auction totaled CHF 6.7 million ($8.1 million) with 78 percent of lots finding new owners, according to Rapaport.
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