Datejust 15030 fake

On May 14, 2023, Sotheby’s held the “Important Watches: Part I” auction in Geneva. A Rolex Ref. 6241 Daytona “John Player Special” 18K gold chronograph sold for 2.238 million Swiss francs, which is about 17.38 million yuan.

Made in 1969, this 18-carat yellow gold case with a diameter of 37.5 mm comes with a black and gold dial, is powered by the hand-wound Cal. 722-1 movement, and has an Oyster bracelet in 18 ct yellow gold. Sotheby’s calls it “the finest Rolex Ref. 6241 Daytona ever seen in the last 10 years or more” and the John Player Special 18-carat gold chronograph. The clean and neat case back shows that it has not been serviced by Rolex. According to the family of the original owner, in the 50 years since the watch was bought, it has never really been worn or used.

The watch features a unique black and gold color scheme that reminds one of the packaging color of John Player Special cigarettes, as well as the car livery of the Lotus F1 Team sponsored by the tobacco company John Player & Sons in the 1970s and 1980s. In total, Rolex made more than 3,000 Ref. 6241 pieces, of which only 300 were made of 18-carat gold. Of the 300 pieces in 18-carat yellow gold Ref. 6241, only a small number have the popular John Player Special dial.

The watch, estimated at 600,000 to 1.2 million Swiss francs before the auction, was sold for nearly double its highest estimate of 2.238 million Swiss francs after eight minutes of intense bidding. In the end, it became the third-highest price ever paid for a Daytona gold watch, the fourth-highest Daytona metal watch, and the fifth-highest Daytona hand-wound watch ever sold at public auction.