A rare Rolex Daytona with a lapis lazuli dial was recently auctioned off for a whopping $3.27 million, setting a new world record for an automatic Daytona. Sold via Sotheby's, the watch was originally expected to fetch anywhere between $516,000 to $1,032,000, meaning it went for three to six times the estimated price.
This particular Rolex Daytona was manufactured in 1999, as it is the only known platinum Daytona with a lapis lazuli hard stone dial. Another key detail of the timepiece comes in the form of an inscription on the case back that reads "XII 1998." Furthermore, the cal. 4030 automatic movement has 31 jewels, while the case spans 40mm in diameter.
As HODINKEE points out, Sotheby's auctioned a similar platinum Daytona in 2018 that went for $872,100. The dial of that watch was made from black mother-of-pearl. As both watches have the same reference number of 16516, they are presumed to be among an extremely limited number of platinum Rolexes produced in 1999.
You can learn more about the record-setting lapis lazuli Rolex Daytona by visiting Sotheby's.
