What the Rolex Four Seasons Daytonas sold for
The headline number, the split, and where the money goes.
The four Rolex Four Seasons Daytonas sold for a combined £37.3 million, or $49,467,260, at Phillips in London on September 28, 2026. Summer was the top lot at £10.3 million, and every penny goes to charity.
Rolex built four one-of-one Cosmograph Daytonas, one for each season, and Phillips sold them as four separate lots. Aurel Bacs held the gavel. No buyer's premium applied, so the hammer price is the whole price.
The money is split between the Federer Foundation, which funds early learning for children in Southern Africa and Switzerland, and Re:wild, the conservation group Leonardo DiCaprio co-founded. Phillips says it is the largest single consignment ever offered at a charity auction.
For scale, Hodinkee reported in early September that the set was first meant to go privately to one buyer for about CHF 4 million. The room paid CHF 41,153,090. That's a little over ten times the private number.
We've bought and sold Daytonas in downtown Los Angeles for forty years. Rolex putting its own watches in front of an auctioneer is new to us too, and it's the part of this story that will outlast the total.
The short version
Rolex sent four unique gem-set Daytonas to Phillips London on September 28, 2026. All four sold, all four went to phone bidders, and all proceeds go to charity.
- Total: £37,300,000, which is $49,467,260 or CHF 41,153,090. No buyer's premium.
- Summer, in 18k Everose gold with a turquoise dial, led at £10.3 million, about $13.66 million.
- Autumn made £10.2 million, Winter £10 million, and Spring £6.8 million.
- The total beats the CHF 31 million Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime 6300A from Only Watch 2019 as the biggest charity watch sale, though that was one watch.
- Paul Newman's own Daytona, sold for $17.8 million in 2017, is still the benchmark for a single Rolex.
- The catch: charity bidding includes a donation. These prices say nothing reliable about what your Daytona is worth.
Four Seasons Daytona auction results, lot by lot
The order they sold in, what each one made, and how the room behaved.
Winter opened the sale at £10 million, Spring dipped to £6.8 million, Summer set the high at £10.3 million, and Autumn closed at £10.2 million.
Rolex Four Seasons sale total
Figures from the Phillips results release, London, September 28, 2026. Verified September 30, 2026.
| Lot | Season | Case | Hammer | Approx. US dollars |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Winter | 950 platinum | £10,000,000 | $13.26 million |
| 2 | Spring | 18k white gold | £6,800,000 | $9.02 million |
| 3 | Summer | 18k Everose gold | £10,300,000 | $13.66 million |
| 4 | Autumn | 18k yellow gold | £10,200,000 | $13.53 million |
Dollar figures converted at the exchange rate implied by the Phillips total of $49,467,260 for £37,300,000. Other outlets round slightly differently.
How the room played out
The sale ran at the Raffles London at the OWO, the old War Office building, the day after the Laver Cup. SJX Watches reported more than 40 registered phone bidders and over 250 people in the room, including Mick Jagger and Jon Bon Jovi. Every one of the four watches still went to a phone.
Winter was the favorite to top the night because it's the only platinum case. Bidding stalled near £5 million, then two phones and one man in the room pushed it to £10 million. According to SJX, the winning agent told another bidder his client wanted Winter and nothing else, so it might have gone higher with a stubborn underbidder.
Summer was the circus. DiCaprio bid on it himself, a woman in the room pushed past £8 million, and Bacs asked Federer to sweeten the lot. Federer offered an hour of tennis. She told the room she doesn't like tennis. A phone bidder took it at £10.3 million.
Why Spring sold for less
Lot order did most of it. Spring came up second, right after the watch everyone had been waiting for, and the room cooled off. Its buyer was a phone bidder who had chased Winter and lost.
Our read is that Spring was the buy of the night. It carries the same approximately 5.57 carats of bezel sapphires as the platinum Winter, more than Summer or Autumn, and it cost 34 percent less than Summer. If we had to write the check ourselves, that's the lot we'd have wanted.
Own a factory gem-set Daytona?
Send us photos and the reference, and we'll come back with a real number the same day.
Inside each Rolex Four Seasons Daytona
Metals, stones, and what all four have in common.
All four Rolex Four Seasons Daytonas share the calibre 4131 movement, 54 diamonds on the lugs and crown guards, and a bezel of 36 trapeze-cut stones. The case metal, dial stone, and gem color change with the season.
| Detail | Spring | Summer | Autumn | Winter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reference, as reported | 126599 SAVL | 126595 SARO | 126598 TML | 126596 SABV |
| Case | 18k white gold | 18k Everose gold | 18k yellow gold | 950 platinum |
| Dial | Chrysoprase | Turquoise | Mookaite | Blue opal |
| Counters | Lepidolite | Heart of ruby | Chrysoprase | Lapis lazuli |
| Bezel | 36 purple sapphires, approx. 5.57 ct | 36 pink sapphires, approx. 4.32 ct | 36 green tourmalines, approx. 4.32 ct | 36 sapphires, blue to fuchsia, approx. 5.57 ct |
| Hour markers | 11 purple sapphires | 11 pink sapphires | 11 green tourmalines | 11 diamonds |
| Lugs and crown guards | 54 diamonds, approx. 0.86 ct | 54 diamonds, approx. 0.86 ct | 54 diamonds, approx. 0.86 ct | 54 diamonds, approx. 0.86 ct |
| Hammer price | £6,800,000 | £10,300,000 | £10,200,000 | £10,000,000 |
Stone and carat details from Rolex's official auction page. Reference suffixes as reported by watch press and not yet confirmed by Rolex.
Movement and case
Calibre 4131 is the in-house automatic chronograph Rolex introduced with the current Rolex Daytona generation in 2023. It has a Chronergy escapement, a 72-hour power reserve, and Superlative Chronometer certification at minus 2 to plus 2 seconds per day.
That's the same engine as a steel 126500LN. Mechanically, nothing separates these four from a Daytona you can walk into a boutique and ask for. The £10 million is the stones, the one-off status, and the story attached to the night.
What we check on a stone-dial Daytona
Natural stone dials are cut thin and they're brittle. A knock a lacquer dial shrugs off can crack opal or turquoise. Opal sits around 5.5 to 6.5 on the Mohs scale, and turquoise is porous, so skin oils and chemicals can change its color over time.
When a factory stone-dial or gem-set Daytona comes across our counter, we put a loupe on the dial for hairline cracks, check every bezel stone for chips on the trapeze edges, and confirm the settings are factory. Then we match the papers to the case. On a gem-set Rolex, the papers are what prove the stones came from Geneva.
Our pick of the four
Winter. Platinum, an opal dial that shifts every time the light moves, and a bezel that fades from blue through purple to fuchsia. It looks like nothing else Rolex has made. If you'd rather wear yours daily, Autumn is the easier watch, and SJX notes it looks more vivid in person than in photos.
What the Rolex Four Seasons Daytona result means for Daytona prices
Where this sits in auction history, and what it does and doesn't move.
The sale changes how Rolex looks at auction. It does very little for the price of the Daytona in your safe.
Rolex has a long habit of keeping one-offs quiet. Special pieces go from Geneva to private clients, and the rest of us see them in paparazzi photos. This time Rolex confirmed four unique watches in public, published the specs, and let bidders set the price. Phillips billed it as the brand's first-ever charity auction.
Where the result ranks
The £37.3 million total beats the CHF 31 million the Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime ref. 6300A made at Only Watch in 2019, the previous high mark for a charity watch sale. That was a single watch, so treat the comparison loosely.
For one Rolex, Paul Newman's own Daytona ref. 6239 still leads at $17.8 million, sold at Phillips New York in 2017. As far as we can find, the three £10 million Four Seasons lots now sit directly behind it.
Why it won't lift your Daytona
A charity hammer price has a donation baked into it. Some of that £10.3 million is generosity, and some is the chance to say you outbid DiCaprio with Federer watching. None of that follows a watch out of the room.
The steel 126500LN and the gold references are priced by what dealers and collectors pay each week. One gala doesn't change that math, and we won't pretend it does to get you on the phone.
If anything moves, it'll be factory gem-set and stone-dial Daytonas, the Rainbow first. Our bet is a few weeks of extra calls about Rainbows and no lasting change in what they trade for. We'll update the Rolex watch market report once we have real transactions to show.
Want to see a gem-set Daytona in person?
Book a time at our showroom in the California Jewelry Mart, 613 S Hill St, and we'll have them on the tray.
Buying or selling a gem-set Rolex Daytona after the sale
What we'd tell you if you walked in this week.
If you want the look, buy a factory Rainbow Daytona or a factory gem-set Daytona you'll actually wear. If you own one and want to sell, price it on its own merits and ignore the headline.
If you're buying
The Rainbow Daytona ref. 126595RBOW is the closest thing to a Four Seasons that Rolex actually makes, an 18k Everose case with 36 trapeze-cut sapphires in a rainbow gradient on the bezel. We currently sell them at [WatchGuys selling range for 126595RBOW, as of September 2026].
The catch with any gem-set Daytona is the buyer pool when you sell. It's a fraction of the pool for a steel or plain gold Daytona, so the gap between a listing price and a real dealer offer is wider. Buy one because you love it, insist on full box and papers, and plan to keep it.
If you're selling
Bring the papers, the original box, and any service records. On a gem-set Daytona, papers do more for your offer than on any steel watch, because they prove the stones are factory.
We pay the same day with no fees and no commissions. A real offer on a gem-set Daytona depends on the reference, the condition of every stone, and the last few months of trades, so we'd rather see the watch than quote blind. Start with our sell your Rolex page.
Risk flag: aftermarket stones
A Daytona with aftermarket diamonds or gems is worth far less than an unmodified one, and Rolex will not service a watch fitted with non-Rolex parts. If a gem-set Daytona is priced well under the market, assume the stones are aftermarket until the papers and a loupe say otherwise.
Who should look elsewhere
If you're buying a Daytona mainly to hold value, skip the stones. A steel 126500LN or a plain gold reference with papers is far easier to sell later. Gem-set Daytonas are for wearing, and the Four Seasons buyers knew that when they raised their paddles.
Rolex Four Seasons Daytona FAQ
How much did the Rolex Four Seasons Daytonas sell for?
The four Rolex Four Seasons Daytonas sold for a combined £37.3 million, or $49,467,260, at Phillips in London on September 28, 2026. No buyer's premium applied, and all proceeds go to the Federer Foundation and Re:wild.
Which Four Seasons Daytona sold for the most?
Summer, the 18k Everose gold Daytona with a turquoise dial and pink sapphire bezel, was the top lot at £10.3 million, about $13.66 million. Autumn made £10.2 million, Winter £10 million, and Spring £6.8 million.
Who bought the Rolex Four Seasons Daytonas?
The buyers have not been named. All four Rolex Four Seasons Daytonas went to telephone bidders at the Phillips sale in London on September 28, 2026, even with more than 250 people in the room.
Where does the money from the Rolex Four Seasons auction go?
All proceeds from the Rolex Four Seasons auction are split between the Federer Foundation, which funds early learning for children in Southern Africa and Switzerland, and Re:wild, the conservation group co-founded by Leonardo DiCaprio.
Is a Four Seasons Daytona the most expensive Rolex ever sold?
No. Paul Newman's own Rolex Daytona ref. 6239 sold for $17.8 million at Phillips New York in 2017 and remains the benchmark for a single Rolex. The Four Seasons set holds a different record, the largest single consignment ever offered at a charity auction, at £37.3 million.
Can you buy a Rolex Four Seasons Daytona from a dealer?
No. Each Rolex Four Seasons Daytona is a unique piece made for the September 2026 Phillips charity sale, so no second example exists. The closest factory watch you can buy is the Rainbow Daytona ref. 126595RBOW in 18k Everose gold with a sapphire-set bezel.
Will the Four Seasons auction raise the value of my Rolex Daytona?
Probably not in any lasting way. Charity auction prices include a donation, so they do not set market value for regular Daytonas like the 126500LN. Factory gem-set models such as the Rainbow may see extra interest for a few weeks, but prices follow real dealer and auction transactions.
What movement is in the Rolex Four Seasons Daytona?
All four Rolex Four Seasons Daytonas use the Rolex calibre 4131, the in-house automatic chronograph launched with the current Daytona generation in 2023. It has a 72-hour power reserve and is certified to minus 2 to plus 2 seconds per day.
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