Sotheby's auction house in Hong Kong was the scene for some frenzied bidding on Saturday, when an exceptionally rare, and quite possibly unique, Rolex Daytona sold for more than three times its upper estimate.
As part of the Important Watches sale at Sotheby's Hong Kong, the Cosmograph Daytona has a platinum case and a lapis lazuli dial. It is considered to be historically important as it is the only such chronograph to have appeared at auction; it could be the only one ever made by Rolex. A chronograph is a type of watch that is used as a stopwatch as well as a display watch.
Offered by a private collector, the 40mm timepiece is powered by a 4030 Zenith automatic movement calibre. Zenith produced the movements for Rolex Daytonas between 1988 and 2000, after which Rolex switched to using its own in-house movement.
Bearing the reference 16516, this timepiece is only the second known example to carry this number. The other is a platinum Daytona with a dial made of black mother-of-pearl; it was sold by Sotheby's at auction in 2018 for US$871,000 (Dh3.2m).
At the time of that sale, Sotheby's wrote, "While Rolex produced automatic Daytonas only in stainless steel, yellow gold, white gold, and steel and gold, for many years, it has now been confirmed that one very lucky customer was given a unique masterpiece in 1999, and it is rumoured that the late Patrick Heiniger, the famous CEO of Rolex, himself wore a platinum automatic Daytona."
The rare platinum case is inscribed on the back and dated XII 1998, making it what Sotheby's described as "historically important and possibly unique". The auction house also said it was an "exceptionally rare" watch.
With a listed estimate of between HK$4m to HK$8m (Dh1.9m to Dh3.7m), after some vigorous bidding the final price far exceeded all expectations, at HK$25.3m.
In total, the sale generated an impressive HK$117m.
Although the sum paid for the watch is impressive, the highest figure ever paid for a Daytona was in October 2017, when Paul Newman's personal Paul Newman Daytona timepiece was sold by Phillips for US$17.7m.
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Small Victories: The True Story of Faith No More by Adrian Harte
Jawbone Press
Grand Slam Los Angeles results
Men:
56kg – Jorge Nakamura
62kg – Joao Gabriel de Sousa
69kg – Gianni Grippo
77kg – Caio Soares
85kg – Manuel Ribamar
94kg – Gustavo Batista
110kg – Erberth Santos
Women:
49kg – Mayssa Bastos
55kg – Nathalie Ribeiro
62kg – Gabrielle McComb
70kg – Thamara Silva
90kg – Gabrieli Pessanha
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
Key recommendations
- Fewer criminals put behind bars and more to serve sentences in the community, with short sentences scrapped and many inmates released earlier.
- Greater use of curfews and exclusion zones to deliver tougher supervision than ever on criminals.
- Explore wider powers for judges to punish offenders by blocking them from attending football matches, banning them from driving or travelling abroad through an expansion of ‘ancillary orders’.
- More Intensive Supervision Courts to tackle the root causes of crime such as alcohol and drug abuse – forcing repeat offenders to take part in tough treatment programmes or face prison.
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
THE LOWDOWN
Romeo Akbar Walter
Rating: 2/5 stars
Produced by: Dharma Productions, Azure Entertainment
Directed by: Robby Grewal
Cast: John Abraham, Mouni Roy, Jackie Shroff and Sikandar Kher
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Etihad (etihad.com) flies from Abu Dhabi to Mykonos, with a flight change to its partner airline Olympic Air in Athens. Return flights cost from Dh4,105 per person, including taxes.
Where to stay
The modern-art-filled Ambassador hotel (myconianambassador.gr) is 15 minutes outside Mykonos Town on a hillside 500 metres from the Platis Gialos Beach, with a bus into town every 30 minutes (a taxi costs €15 [Dh66]). The Nammos and Scorpios beach clubs are a 10- to 20-minute walk (or water-taxi ride) away. All 70 rooms have a large balcony, many with a Jacuzzi, and of the 15 suites, five have a plunge pool. There’s also a private eight-bedroom villa. Double rooms cost from €240 (Dh1,063) including breakfast, out of season, and from €595 (Dh2,636) in July/August.
