Paul Newman-Owned Rolex Daytonas

Unsurprisingly for a man whose name became the nickname of the model, Paul Newman owned several Rolex Daytona references. Two of the most notable are coming up for auction next week. The first, a reference 16520 "Zenith", was gifted to Newman following the 1995 24 Hours of Daytona Race, at which he became the oldest man to win the race. It bears the inscription "Rolex at Daytona 24 Paul Newman Rolex Motorsports Man of the Year 1995" on the case back, sits on a stainless steel bracelet, and was sold at a charity auction in 1999, only to be returned to Newman by the buyer. The second, a reference 116519 in white gold, is the only precious metal Daytona Newman ever owned and carries the inscription "Drive Very Slowly Joanne" on the back, a message from his loving wife. Both watches will be sold at Sotheby's Important Watches auction in New York on June 9th.