The Most Expensive Rolex Watches: Current Collection and All-Time

Admit it, you’re here because you googled “Most Expensive Rolex Watches” in the hopes of gathering up some horological bar trivia, right? No? You say you’re here because you really, truly are interested in buying one of the most expensive watches Rolex currently puts out? Well, good news. We’ve updated this article to incorporate both. 

Photo: Sotheby's

Founded in 1905 by Hans Wilsdorf, Rolex is today the most globally recognized Swiss luxury watch brand, one of the leading innovators in the watch industry from the 20th Century to today, and the maker of some of the most popular and coveted watch models in the world, from gents’ classics like the Datejust and Day-Date to sport-luxury icons like the Submariner, Daytona, and GMT-Master. As one might expect with such a horological pedigree, Rolex watches have also become some of the most valuable watches on the secondary and auction markets, with the most elite and exclusive pieces selling for $1 million or more. (Disclaimer: obviously, for the most avid and well-connected Rolex customers, it is the legendary “off-catalog” models — like the "Rainbow Daytona" pictured above — that both project the most mythical aura of exclusivity and command the most stratospheric prices. The problem with accurately reporting on which of them is really the “Most Expensive” is built into their rarity: such models change hands without an actual MSRP ever being declared publicly, and whatever that original purchase price is, it could change either upward or (rarely, of course) downward when the piece is hypothetically resold on the secondary market, or at auction. So, for the sake of accuracy, in the first section we’re going to spotlight the most expensive version among four of Rolex ‘s most popular product families, and follow that up with a countdown of the top 10 most expensive Rolex watches sold at auction. All prices are current as of June 20, 2025.)

Most Expensive Rolex Submariner:

Submariner Date White Gold Ref. 126619LB ($48,000)

The Submariner (which we reviewed here), launched in 1953, was the first dive watch waterproof to 100 meters — modern versions have since tripled that depth rating —  and it cemented its iconic status by establishing the template for many dive watches that followed. Today, the Rolex Submariner, which also made its mark in pop cultural history as the watch of Sean Connery’s James Bond, is one of Rolex’s most sought-after models, with its Oyster case made primarily of stainless steel. Rolex has, however, introduced precious metals into the Submariner line, and the model currently carrying the highest price tag is the Submariner Date whose 41mm case and Oyster bracelet are both made of 18k white gold. The watch, listed at $48,000, is outfitted with Rolex’s in-house Caliber 3235 and matches a classical black dial with a blue Cerachrom bezel. (If you’re seeking the most expensive Rolex dive watch, period, that would be the Deepsea Ref. 136668LB in yellow gold, whose 44mm case is multiple times more waterproof than that of the Submariner, to a bone-crushing 3,900 meters.)

Most Expensive Rolex Daytona:

Cosmograph Daytona Everose Gold and Diamonds Ref. 126595TBR ($141,500)

The Rolex Cosmograph Daytona, named after the famous racetrack in Florida, was first launched in 1963 and has since become one of the most coveted watches in the world — forever linked to the world of motorsports and particularly to the late actor and part-time racing driver Paul Newman, whose name unofficially graces one of the most collectible models (as you’ll discover in more detail in the “Sold at Auction” section below). Off-catalog Daytonas are among the most rare and valuable Rolexes, and even in the “regular” lineup, Rolex offers some truly dazzling, gem-encrusted versions which — while certainly straying from the model’s original, testosterone-driven, racing DNA — boast their own audacious appeal. At the top of the current pricing pyramid for Daytonas is this reference in a 40mm case made from Rolex’s proprietary Everose gold, with diamond-set lugs and a row of trapeze-cut diamonds displacing the traditional tachymeter scale on the bezel. The dial features a Sundust finish, with gold appliqués and tone-on-tone subdials. This elegantly gilded version of the Daytona is priced at $141,500.

Most Expensive Rolex GMT-Master: 

GMT-Master II Everose Gold Ref. 126715CHNR ($50,750)

Making its debut in 1954, the Rolex GMT-Master was a trend-setter for many travel watches to follow, as the first watch that displayed the time in two separate time zones via a fourth, central 24-hour hand and a bidirectional rotating 24-hour bezel. Its dual-time functionality — and its now-iconic, original red-and-blue “Pepsi” bezel — are the products of Rolex’s collaboration with Pan Am Airlines pilots to develop the model, which was intended to allow pilots to track time simultaneously at their home and destination cities. The rest, as they say, is history, as the GMT-Master and its successor, the GMT-Master II, which added an independently adjustable GMT hand, has gone on to become one of the world’s most storied and coveted luxury sports watches, now with an array of colorful (and cleverly named) bicolor bezels. Topping the current GMT-Master II family in terms of price is this Everose-gold “Root Beer” version (i.e., a GMT bezel with brown and black sectors) with an eye-catching tiger Iron dial. Tiger iron is a rare, complex-structured metamorphic rock made from three minerals — tiger’s eye, hematite, and red jasper — and its unique texture and orange tinted streakselevate this to status of the most expensive Rolex watch from the GMT-Master II family with its lofty MSRP of $50,750.

Most Expensive Rolex Yacht-Master:

Yacht-Master 40 Everose Gold, Diamond Pave dial, Ref. 126655 ($51,000)

After seducing scuba divers with its robust Submariner dive watch in 1953, Rolex released the more luxurious Yacht-Master in 1992 as a timepiece for sailors and pleasure cruisers, and has been building it as a distinct collection of its own ever since. Even more so than other models in Rolex’s “Professional” line, the Yacht-Master has embraced gem-setting and feminine-targeted sizes colorways over the years despite its masculine seafaring roots. Currently, the priciest and glitziest Yacht-Master measures 40mm in (here again) Everose gold, with a fully diamond-paved dial, and mounted on the wrist-hugging, rubber-coated Oysterflex bracelet that Rolex introduced on an earlier Yacht-Master model in 2015. Rolex lists this one’s MSRP as $51,000.  

Most Expensive Rolex Watches Sold at Auction:

10. Rolex Daytona Ref. 6263 “Oyster Albino” owned by Eric Clapton ($1.4 million, 2019, Phillips)

This watch was once part of the collection of legendary musician Eric Clapton, who, it turns out, is also a very serious wristwatch aficionado. Auctioned alongside the rest of the Clapton collection in 2019, this “Oyster Albino” version of the storied Cosmograph Daytona 6263 chronograph is one of only four that are believed to exist, and derives its name from the silvery-white color of both the dial and subdials, all framed by a contrasting black bakelite bezel with the model’s familiar tachymeter scale engraving. On most examples of this reference, the subdials are also in a contrasting black color. The watch traces its origin to 1971 and contains the manually wound Valjoux 72-based Caliber 727.

9. Rolex GMT-Master Ref. 1675, worn by Marlon Brando ($1.952 million, 2019, Phillips)

Brando wore this long-discontinued version of the GMT-Master in his memorable role as Colonel Kurtz in the 1979 film Apocalypse Now. The 39mm watch was made circa 1972 and features an “M. Brando” engraving on its caseback. It’s also, notably, missing the familiar two-tone GMT bezel that’s usually a hallmark of the model; Brando himself apparently removed it prior to filming. The actor gave the watch to his god-daughter Petra Brando Fischer, who in turn gifted it to her husband Russel at their wedding. The watch is extremely well preserved, with all its original facets and bevels and its luminous hands and hour markers now in a golden beige tone. Sales from the watch, which reached almost $2 million when it sold at Phillips in 2019, partially benefitted Petra and Russel’s charitable foundation to help abused and neglected children.

8. Rolex Ref. 4113 “Antimagnetique” ($2.5 million, 2016, Phillips)

The star of Phillips’ 2016 “Stop-Start-Reset” auction, which was composed entirely of vintage steel-cased chronographs, this Rolex reference is one of only 12 pieces known to exist. Made in 1942 and measuring 44mm, the watch looks unlike any Rolex models marketed today, with a silvered matte dial, thin gold baton indexes and Arabic numerals, two subdials, and concentric tachymeter and telemeter scales on the dial’s periphery. Probably one of a handful of watches gifted to automobile racing drivers, the model is outfitted with a split-seconds chronograph movement, an extreme rarity for Rolex and something that the brand doesn’t make today.

7. Rolex Cosmograph Daytona Ref. 6240 “Neanderthal” (3.01 million, 2018, Phillips)

While this watch is recognized as the first “Cosmograph” model to include screw-down chrono pushers, it is also notable, and rare, for eschewing not only the familiar name “Daytona” but also “Cosmograph” and “Oyster” on the dial. (It may in fact be the only one with this minimalist layout in existence.) Made exclusively in steel, with an acrylic tachymeter bezel, this reference also features perhaps the earliest example of the black-and-white “Paul Newman” dial, several years before the reference that bears that nickname was made (hence the “Neanderthal” nickname, apparently). Its 37.5mm case contains the manually wound, 17-jewel Caliber 72B, and its black dial has a set of oversized “Big Eye” white subdials that are also quite rare for this series.

6. Rolex Cosmograph Daytona Ref. 16516 Platinum, Turquoise Dial ($3.14 million, 2022, Sotheby’s)

Pulling in more than six times its pre-auction estimate of $515,000, this “Zenith Daytona” model is one of just five pieces in a 40mm platinum case and housing the Rolex Caliber 4030, the legendary Daytona movement based on Zenith’s groundbreaking El Primero caliber. Making it extra-special — and possibly unique —  is the so-called “Stella” dial, made of an exotic turquoise mineral stone that is said to be unique for each watch. The watch was made by Rolex in 1998 — just two years before the watchmaker stopped using the Zenith El Primero movements in the Daytona and ushered in its own in-house movements.

5. Rolex Cosmograph Daytona Ref. 6263 “The Legend” ($3.7 million, 2017, Phillips)

On the block at Phillips one day after the watch that follows it on this list, this 18k gold-cased “Paul Newman” Daytona with a striking lemon-colored dial and contrasting black subdials has been nicknamed “The Legend” because of its extreme rarity: it is one of only three known models with this dial/case combination. The white details on the black counters are an usual adornment that further differentiates this reference from other contemporaries. This particular watch was issued circa 1969 and easily blew past its highest pre-auction estimate of 1.6 million.

4. Rolex “Emperor Bao Dai” Ref. 6062 ($5.06 million, 2017, Phillips)

When we think of valuable Rolexes, we usually think of the brand’s coveted sport watches like the Daytona and Submariner, but one of the most expensive Rolex watches ever sold at auction was this classically elegant 36mm yellow-gold model, the only vintage Rolex of its kind to feature a moon-phase as well as a triple calendar (day, date, and month indication) on its dial. It derives its name from its most famous owner, Prince Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thụy, better known as “Bảo Đại” (translated as “Preserver of Greatness”), the 13th and last Vietnamese emperor of the Nguyen Dynasty, which ruled from 1802 to 1945. In 1954, shortly before he was ousted from power, he bought the watch in Geneva while attending the international conference that would result in the division of Vietnam. First auctioned in 2002 for $232,000, and again in 2017 for $5.06 million, the Bao Dai held the title of most expensive Rolex watch in the world but has since dropped to number four.

3. Rolex “Paul Newman Big Red” Daytona Ref. 6263 ($5.48 million, 2020, Phillips)

Are you detecting a strong “Paul Newman” theme in this list? This watch, owned and worn by Newman, went up for auction in 2020, consigned by its owner, the actor’s daughter Clea Newman Soderland. The so-called “Big Red” Daytona, purchased by Joanne Woodward in 1983 and worn by her husband until his death 2008, got its nickname from the red-script “Daytona” over the subdial at 6 o’clock, one of three white registers on the black dial. The stainless steel case was notable for its screw-down chronograph pushers, which Newman was known to have frequently left unscrewed so he could quickly use the stopwatch to time racing laps. The “Drive Carefully - Joanne” inscription on the caseback attests to Woodward’s continuing concern for the blue-eyed actor’s safety on the racetrack.

2. Rolex Daytona Gold “Unicorn” Ref. 6265 ($5.937 million, 2018, Phillips)

Claiming the title for the second-most expensive Rolex ever sold publicly is this white-gold Cosmograph Daytona model, the only known one of its kind, hence its nickname, “Unicorn.” Made circa 1970, the watch is also notable and collectible due to its bark-pattern bracelet, also made of white gold. During the era from which this watch emerged, Rolex was known to use only steel and yellow gold for the Daytona, so the discovery of a white gold model was destined to generate heat in the collectors’ market, and this watch did not disappoint. Inside its 37mm Oyster case is the manually wound Caliber 727, with 17 jewels.

1. Rolex Daytona 6239 “Paul Newman” ($17.75 million, 2017, Phillips)

Sold in 2017, and still holding the number one spot among the most expensive Rolex watch ever auctioned, is this “Paul Newman” Daytona actually owned and worn by Paul Newman himself. The actor/racer wore a rare Ref. 6239 Daytona during his successful motorsports career, and examples of that watch have been among the most valuable timepieces on the secondary market. Thus it was little surprise that this one made such an earth-shaking impact when it went on the block in New York on October 26, 2017. The 37mm-diameter stainless steel chronograph, with its telltale off-white dial, contrasting black subdials and minute track, and engraved tachymeter-scale bezel, was a gift to Newman from his wife, actress Joanne Woodward, its caseback engraved with the affectionate note of caution, “Drive Carefully - Me,” a reference to the beginning of Newman’s racing career around that time. Acquired in 1968, the watch had been kept within the Newman family for nearly 50 years before consigned for auction. You can learn more about the brand at rolex.com