The Rolex Four Seasons Daytona auction is set for 28 September in London, where Rolex will offer four pièce unique Cosmograph Daytonas through Phillips, with all proceeds split between two charities led by Rolex ambassadors Roger Federer and Leonardo DiCaprio.
The watches will be sold individually, not as a set, a detail that changes the picture considerably for collectors who missed the earlier opportunity to acquire all four together.
How the Rolex Four Seasons Daytona auction came about
The story began in April at Watches and Wonders, when a small group of insiders learned that Rolex had produced four unique gem-set Daytonas, each representing one of the four seasons. Rolex priced the complete set at 4 million Swiss francs (roughly $4,898,600) and asked retailers to nominate potential buyers. According to Hodinkee’s Ben Clymer, who broke the story, more than 1,000 people signalled they were willing to pay that figure. One contacted Clymer directly to say they would go to $10 million for the set.
That level of demand appears to have shifted Rolex’s thinking. Rather than a private sale to a single buyer, the brand opted for a public charity auction, an approach that is essentially without precedent for a marque that has historically kept its rarest pieces out of the spotlight entirely.
What the four watches are
Each of the four Daytonas is built around a different metal and a distinct palette of stones. The ‘Spring’ model is 18K white gold with a chrysoprase dial, lepidolite subdials, purple-sapphire indices, 36 trapezoid-cut purple sapphires on the bezel, and 54 diamonds on the case shoulders and lugs. ‘Summer’ uses 18K Everose gold, a turquoise dial, ruby-heart subdials, pink-sapphire indices, 36 pink sapphires, and 54 diamonds. ‘Autumn’ is 18K yellow gold with a mookaite dial, chrysoprase subdials, green-tourmaline indices, 36 green tourmalines, and 54 diamonds. ‘Winter’ is 950 platinum with a blue-opal dial, lapis lazuli subdials, diamond indices, 36 sapphires in a blue-to-fuchsia gradient, and 54 diamonds.
Together they represent the most elaborate gem-set project Rolex has publicly acknowledged. The brand has created unique pieces in the past, but making them the centrepiece of a publicised international auction is a different posture entirely.
Where the money goes
The proceeds will be shared between two organisations. According to WatchTime, the Roger Federer Foundation was established in 2003 and focuses on improving access to education and opportunities for personal development for children in southern Africa and Switzerland. Re:wild, the conservation organisation associated with DiCaprio, was co-founded by a group of conservation scientists alongside DiCaprio and works with Indigenous Peoples and local communities.
Both causes reflect Rolex’s long-standing association with its ambassadors beyond simple brand endorsement, and both give collectors a reason to bid beyond the watches themselves.
Could this beat the Paul Newman record?
The most expensive Rolex ever sold at auction remains Paul Newman’s own Daytona, which fetched $17.8 million in 2017. Clymer’s account of a single buyer willing to offer $10 million for the private set (before the auction format was even announced) suggests that figure is not an unreasonable ceiling to consider for the individual pieces combined.
Rolex’s recent catalogue has been moving in a wilder direction anyway. In 2023 the brand released the ‘Celebration’ dial and the ‘Puzzle’ Day-Date with unique emojis in the date window, a streak that continued into this year with the ‘Jubilee’ Oyster Perpetual. The four seasons Daytonas sit at the extreme end of that shift.
Phillips will open bidding on each of the four watches individually on 28 September in London, and given that over 1,000 buyers were already circling before a public sale was ever on the table, the room is likely to be a lively one.
