Rolex sends 4 one-off Daytonas to Phillips on 28 September
The set was conceived for a single buyer at about $4.9 million before Rolex switched it to auction. Proceeds are split evenly between the Federer Foundation and Re:wild.
By The Saleroom Desk
What changed
Rolex chose the room. Four one-off gem-set Daytonas go to Phillips in London on 28 September, after being conceived as a private sale to one buyer at about 4 million Swiss francs. Two charities split the proceeds.
What it means
- If you estimate one-off Rolex: a public result is coming where there has never been one. Note it, then discount it.
- If you are bidding: no estimate is published and the lotting is not stated.
- What this is not: a comparable. Charity rooms do not discover market prices.
Key figures
| Unique watchesone for each season | 4 |
|---|---|
| Original pricefor the set, one buyer | CHF 4m |
| Sale datePhillips, London | 28 Sep |
| Beneficiariesproceeds split evenly | 2 |
Source: Rolex, via JCK and SJX Watches - reported 3 and 4 September 2026
A private sale that became public
One buyer was planned. The set was conceived as a private sale at approximately 4 million Swiss francs, about $4.9 million. Retailer feedback pointed to many more than one interested buyer.
Rolex rarely consigns. The brand makes almost no one-off watches and does not usually send them to a saleroom. The choice of a public room is the news.
| Reference | Metal | Dial |
|---|---|---|
| 126599 SAVL | 18ct white gold | Chrysoprase |
| 126595 SARO | 18ct Everose gold | Turquoise |
| 126598 TML | 18ct yellow gold | Mookaite |
| 126596 SABV | 950 platinum | Blue opal |
Source. References and metals from JCK, 4 September 2026; dial materials from SJX Watches, 3 September 2026.
Season names. are not matched to references here, because no source read for this article maps the two directly.
What is not on the record
No estimate published. Phillips has not given an estimate for the four, and has not said whether they sell as one lot or separately. Both change what any result means.
Charity distorts price. Bidders in a charity room are buying a cause as well as a watch, so the number that results travels further than it deserves.
What to watch
- 28 SepThe sale at Phillips, London. The first public price for a one-off Daytona of this kind.
- Before 28 SepPhillips' catalogue, for estimates and whether the four are lotted together.
- OctAny repricing of gem-set Daytonas in the secondary market against the result.
The story so far
- £59,000 in PenzanceA steel Patek beat its low estimate 11.8 times.
- 73 lots over a millionThe watch auction room reflates.
- $235 million in a seasonPhillips rewrote the watch-auction record.
Go deeper
What would change this call
Phillips publishing estimates close to the 4 million francs, and a result near them. That would make this ordinary price discovery rather than a charity premium, and the warning against using it as a comparable would soften.
Why a charity result is not a comparable
In a benefit sale the buyer receives a watch and, in many jurisdictions, a deduction, and is seen to support the cause. Bidding therefore contains a donation the catalogue never prices. Results from such rooms routinely exceed open-market levels for the same reference, which is why estimators discount them rather than enter them in a price series.
Method
The 4 million Swiss francs and its approximate dollar equivalent of $4.9 million are JCK's figures, reported 4 September 2026, and are attributed rather than converted by this desk. References and metals are from the same report; dial materials are from SJX Watches, 3 September 2026. No source read for this article maps the four season names to the four references, so that mapping is left out rather than inferred. No estimate has been published for the lots.