Why This Prototype Rolex ‘Rainbow’ Daytona Could Sell For Millions

“There will likely be several interested bidders for the historic Rainbow Daytona prototype, including Rolex itself as they often acquire such important items for their private archive,” says Paul Altieri, Founder and CEO of Bob’s Watches.

Jared Paul Stern

Oct 16, 2024

Seen on the wrist of everyone from Adam Levine, Kevin Hart, Post Malone, Mark Wahlberg, Patrick Mahomes, David Beckham, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, and Sylvester Stallone, the Rolex “Rainbow” Daytona has become the ultimate status symbol—the epitome of “if you’ve got it, flaunt it”, horologically speaking.

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When originally released in 2012, the watch’s list price was $90,000; since then it has been in and out of the Rolex catalog, and currently sells for $400,000-plus on the secondary market, with the most desirable references of the pavé-diamond dial Everose gold version often going for up to $900,000—if you can find one for sale.

This makes it the Rainbow the most expensive modern regular-production factory Daytona on the market. And a one-of-a-kind prototype of the timepiece is headed to auction in Geneva courtesy of Phillips next month, where it could go for $3.5 million, making it one of the most expensive Rolex watches in existence. 

The very first Rainbow Daytona ever made, it was produced as a one-off for an über-rich client in the Middle East, c.1993. The prototype has a pavé diamond dial with blue sapphire hour markers and the now famous bezel that gave the piece its name, and it comes on a leather strap in place of a metal bracelet, which looks a bit discordant in our view.

The production version of the Rainbow Daytona’s bezel features 36 baguette-cut sapphires in various colors, while the case is set with 56 diamonds and the hour markers come in the form of 11 more sapphires. Powered by Rolex’s automatic caliber 4130 the watch is waterproof up to 100 meters or 330 feet, despite all of its jewels.

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Perhaps the only Daytona equal in value and rarity is the one Jay-Z wore to a ritzy Hamptons party earlier this year. That solid gold watch (above), originally made for the Sultan of Oman in the 1980s, is festooned with diamonds but not in rainbow colors, and sold at auction in 2023 for $4 million.  It’s based on the iconic “Paul Newman” Daytona Ref. 6263.

“There will likely be several interested bidders for the historic Rainbow Daytona prototype, including Rolex itself as they often acquire such important items for their private archive,” says Paul Altieri, Founder and CEO of high-end luxury timepiece retailer Bob’s Watches, who himself owns one of the world’s top Rolex collections. “I’d love for it to go to a top collector who will also wear the watch from time to time. It’d be a shame for it to be locked away in a Swiss vault, never to be seen again.”