Watch Auctions 2026 · Auction Result
TL;DR
Phillips London, 28 September 2026: four one-of-one Rolex Cosmograph Daytona gem-set chronographs — Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter — sold for a combined £37.3 million ($49.4M USD) with no buyer’s premium. All proceeds go to the Roger Federer Foundation and Re:wild. No pre-sale estimates were published. “Summer” (Everose gold, turquoise dial) topped the set at £10.3 million ($13.65 million). This is the largest single charitable watch consignment in history and Rolex’s first-ever public auction.
A Historic Evening in London
On the evening of Sunday 28 September 2026, four watches entered an auction room in London and left as the most expensive charity lot in the history of watchmaking. The Rolex Cosmograph Daytona “Four Seasons” collection — four bespoke gem-set chronographs created specifically for philanthropic sale — raised £37.3 million in total at Phillips, conducted by Senior Consultant Aurel Bacs, who has presided over nearly every landmark watch auction of the past two decades.
No buyer’s premium was charged. No pre-sale estimates were published. Every pound raised went directly to two organisations: the Roger Federer Foundation, which supports early childhood education in Southern Africa and Switzerland, and Re:wild, the conservation initiative co-founded by Leonardo DiCaprio that works to protect and restore wild ecosystems globally.
Rolex CEO Jean-Frédéric Dufour framed the evening simply: “True excellence is measured not only by the quality of our products, but also by the positive impact we can have on the world.” For a brand that has historically avoided the secondary auction market with unusual discipline, commissioning and consigning four unique pieces through a public auction house marks a genuinely new chapter.
The Four Watches: Specifications
Each of the four Daytonas shares a common foundation: the in-house Calibre 4131 self-winding chronograph with approximately 72 hours of power reserve and Superlative Chronometer certification. The lugs and crown guard are set with 54 brilliant-cut diamonds (approximately 0.86 ct total); 36 trapeze-cut gemstones ring each bezel. Beyond that shared architecture, every piece diverges into its own seasonal language.
| Season | Ref. | Case metal | Dial material | Subdial material | Bezel gems |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 126599 SAVL | 18k white gold | Chrysoprase (green quartz) | Lepidolite | Purple sapphires |
| Summer | 126595 SARO | 18k Everose gold | Turquoise | Heart of Ruby | Pink sapphires |
| Autumn | 126598 TML | 18k yellow gold | Mookaite jasper | Chrysoprase | Green tourmalines |
| Winter | 126596 SABV | 950 platinum | Blue opal | Lapis lazuli | Blue-to-fuchsia gradient sapphires |
Common to all four: Calibre 4131, ~72h power reserve, 54 brilliant-cut diamonds on lugs and crown guard (~0.86 ct), 36 trapeze-cut gemstone bezel, Superlative Chronometer certification. Water resistance: 100m.
The Hammer Prices
With no published estimates, every bid was a pure expression of demand. The result for each piece exceeded any private-valuation figure that had circulated in the collector market (informal estimates of CHF 4 million per watch were mentioned pre-sale in specialist circles — the final results ran two to three times that).
| Season | Hammer price (GBP) | USD equivalent | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | £6,800,000 | ~$9.0M | Lowest of the four; white gold, chrysoprase |
| Summer | £10,300,000 | ~$13.65M | Set-topper; Everose gold, turquoise |
| Autumn | £10,200,000 | ~$13.53M | Yellow gold, mookaite jasper |
| Winter | £10,000,000 | ~$13.26M | Platinum, blue opal; most visually dramatic |
| Total | £37,300,000 | ~$49.4M | No buyer’s premium; all to charity |
Prices in GBP as hammered, 28 September 2026. USD conversion approximate at prevailing rate. No buyer’s premium was charged on any lot.
What This Means for the Daytona Market
It is tempting to dismiss the Four Seasons results as charity-inflated outliers — unique watches, unique occasion, unique buyers. To some extent that is true: no standard-production Daytona is competing with these numbers. But the sale carries three clear signals that matter for anyone watching the Daytona secondary market.
Natural-stone dials command extraordinary premiums. The Mookaite jasper on “Autumn” is sourced exclusively from Western Australia; the blue opal on “Winter” from Ethiopia. Stone dials on factory Rolex pieces — the “meteorite” Datejust, the “turquoise” Oyster Perpetual — already trade above retail on the secondary market. The Four Seasons results amplify that demand signal sharply.
The Daytona platform remains the most versatile in watchmaking. From the everyday Rolex stainless steel chronograph to these near-$14M jewels, the Daytona is the reference that absorbs the widest range of collector intent. That elasticity — not just for “Paul Newman” vintage examples but for modern uniquities — reinforces demand broadly. The “Platona” platinum Daytona (Ref. 6239) remains one of the most pursued lots in the ongoing Phillips New York Sessions Fall 2026; its estimate of $70,000–140,000 looks conservative in this light.
Rolex’s willingness to use public auction channels is itself market-moving. For decades, Rolex has been notably absent from public auction houses as a consignor. Thursday’s event suggests the brand now views the auction mechanism as a legitimate tool for institutional communications, not just a secondary-market phenomenon to be tolerated. That shift will not be lost on the investment community — or on rival maisons.
For broader context on how auction prices feed back into retail demand, our secondary market analysis explores whether watches launched at major fairs actually hold value. And for recent auction context, September’s Sotheby’s Hong Kong result (HK$426M total, a new Asia record) showed that demand in the region remains exceptionally robust ahead of the Geneva auction week in November.
The Bigger Picture: Rolex and Charity
Rolex has long been associated with philanthropy through the Rolex Awards for Enterprise — a programme running since 1976 that funds individuals working on solutions to the world’s pressing challenges. But consigning watches to a public auction, with no buyer’s premium and transparent results, is a different kind of statement. It puts tangible numbers on Rolex’s charitable intent and demonstrates that the brand can mobilise its most iconic reference as a fundraising instrument without diluting its desirability. If anything, the Four Seasons results suggest the opposite: the scarcity and the cause combined to push prices far beyond what any private placement might have achieved.
For collectors interested in the broader Rolex lineup, today’s results are a reminder that the crown’s equity runs deep. The Oyster Perpetual at $6,750 retail and a Four Seasons Daytona at $13.65M are, technically, both Rolexes — and the event that pushes one to record highs reinforces the brand strength that underpins them all.
Next on the Auction Calendar
With the Four Seasons now distributed to their new stewards, attention turns back to the live market. The Phillips New York Sessions Fall 2026 closes on 9 October at 10:00 am ET; 88 lots including an F.P. Journe Tourbillon and a Patek Philippe Ref. 5270J remain in play, with the Voutilainen 28 Sport already having set the tone at $650,000. Antiquorum follows on 18 October in New York (preview from 15 October at The Ned NoMad), and the major Geneva auction week — Phillips’ Watch Auction XXIV, Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Antiquorum Geneva — runs 6–9 November.
Frequently Asked Questions
The four bespoke Rolex Cosmograph Daytona watches raised a combined £37.3 million (approximately $49.4 million USD) at Phillips London on 28 September 2026, with no buyer’s premium charged. The highest individual price was £10.3 million ($13.65M) for “Summer”, the Everose gold piece with a turquoise dial. All proceeds were donated to the Roger Federer Foundation and Re:wild.
No. Rolex and Phillips did not publish pre-sale estimates for any of the four lots. Informal market consensus before the sale suggested valuations of around CHF 4 million per piece; the actual results were two to three times those figures, reflecting the uniqueness of the collection and the charitable context.
“Summer” — the 18-karat Everose gold Daytona with a turquoise dial, ruby-red subdials, and a pink-sapphire bezel (Ref. 126595 SARO) — achieved the highest price at £10.3 million (~$13.65M). It was followed closely by “Autumn” (yellow gold, mookaite dial) at £10.2M and “Winter” (platinum, blue opal) at £10M. “Spring” (white gold, chrysoprase) was the lowest at £6.8M.
Yes — this is Rolex’s first-ever public charity auction. While Rolex watches are routinely sold at auction houses around the world through secondary market channels, this was the first time Rolex itself consigned new, factory-created pieces to a public sale. The decision to work with Phillips and Aurel Bacs for a charity event marks a meaningful shift in the brand’s relationship with the public auction market.
All £37.3 million raised was divided between the Roger Federer Foundation, which supports early childhood education programmes in Southern Africa and Switzerland, and Re:wild, the ecosystem protection and restoration organisation co-founded by Leonardo DiCaprio. No buyer’s premium was retained by Phillips; the full hammer total was distributed to charity.
Sources: Phillips (official auction page); Haute Time; The Hour Markers; Insight Luxury. Prices as hammered on 28 September 2026; USD conversions approximate.
