Four Season Charity Auction
Charles Fish Editorial · Rolex Auction
Four Seasons, Four Daytonas: Inside Rolex’s £37.3 Million Auction
Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter — four unique Rolex Cosmograph Daytonas, four extraordinary combinations of precious metals and gemstones, and one remarkable night at auction.
A One-of-a-Kind Sale
Rolex’s Four Seasons collection turned the Cosmograph Daytona into four completely different expressions of colour — and collectors responded in spectacular fashion.
Auctioned individually by Phillips in London, the four unique watches achieved a combined £37.3 million. All proceeds from the sale were directed to the Federer Foundation and Re:wild, with no buyer’s premium applied.
Beneath all the coloured stones, however, each watch remained unmistakably a Daytona: 40mm proportions, the automatic calibre 4131 and a chronograph design that has become one of the most recognisable silhouettes in modern watchmaking.
The Final Total
Four unique Cosmograph Daytonas, sold as four separate lots in an extraordinary charity auction.
Winter · Ref. 126596 SABV
Winter: Ice, Opal and Platinum
The coolest of the four takes Rolex’s famously icy platinum and pushes the idea much further with blue opal, lapis lazuli, diamonds and a sapphire-set bezel.
Winter was crafted in 950 platinum, with a blue opal dial and lapis lazuli counters. Diamond hour markers sit above the dial, while the bezel is set with 36 trapeze-cut sapphires graduating from blue into fuchsia.
The effect is dramatic, but the combination of blue tones and white metal gives the watch an unmistakably crisp, cold-weather character.
Our Winter Pick
Pre-Owned Rolex Datejust 36 126200
Winter’s defining look is its combination of cool metal and vivid blue. This Datejust 36 takes that idea in a much more understated direction, pairing a stainless steel case and bracelet with a rich blue dial and clean silver-toned details.
View the Blue DatejustSpring · Ref. 126599 SAVL
Spring: Green Meets Violet
Spring swaps icy blue for a softer combination of chrysoprase green and purple — one of the most unusual colour pairings of the four watches.
Made from 18ct white gold, Spring features a chrysoprase dial with lepidolite counters. Purple sapphires are used for both the hour markers and the 36-stone bezel, while diamonds decorate the lugs and crown guards.
Of the four watches it achieved the lowest — though still extraordinary — result, selling for £6.8 million.
Our Spring Pick
Pre-Owned Rolex GMT-Master II 126720VTNR “Sprite”
For Spring, green is the obvious connection. The GMT-Master II “Sprite” brings that colour into one of Rolex’s most distinctive sports watches with its green and black ceramic bezel and matching green GMT hand. The steel construction keeps the overall look crisp, while the flashes of green give it the fresh seasonal character that makes it a fitting partner to the Spring Daytona.
View the GMT-Master II SpriteSummer · Ref. 126595 SARO
Summer: Turquoise, Ruby and Everose Gold
Bright, warm and unapologetically colourful, Summer was the most expensive watch of the night.
Its 18ct Everose gold case surrounds a turquoise dial with counters made from heart of ruby. Pink sapphire hour markers continue the palette, while a bezel of 36 trapeze-cut pink sapphires adds even more colour.
The combination sounds extravagant on paper because it is — yet there is a clear visual logic to the turquoise, warm gold and pink gemstones. Collectors evidently agreed: Summer topped the sale at £10.3 million.
Our Summer Pick
Pre-Owned Rolex Daytona 126515LN
This is a natural companion to the Summer watch because it stays within the Daytona family while keeping the same warm rose-gold direction. Its 18ct rose gold case surrounds a bright black dial with rose-toned chronograph counters and diamond hour markers, finished with a black ceramic tachymeter bezel and Oysterflex strap.
View the Rose Gold DaytonaAutumn · Ref. 126598 TML
Autumn: Yellow Gold and Earthy Stone
Autumn feels warmer and earthier, pairing yellow gold with natural stone and deep green gemstones.
The 18ct yellow gold Daytona uses mookaite for its dial and chrysoprase for the chronograph counters. Green tourmalines form the hour markers and the gem-set bezel, while diamonds once again line the lugs and crown guards.
Autumn finished only £100,000 behind Summer, selling for £10.2 million and reinforcing just how strongly collectors responded to the four different seasonal interpretations.
Our Autumn Pick
Pre-Owned Rolex Daytona 126518LN
Autumn is the closest direct link back to the Four Seasons concept. This Daytona keeps the 40mm chronograph format and pairs an 18ct yellow gold case with a black ceramic tachymeter bezel, black dial and matt champagne chronograph counters. The combination of deep black and warm gold gives it exactly the richer, earthier character associated with the season.
View the Yellow Gold DaytonaBeyond the Hammer Price
What the Four Seasons Auction Tells Us About Rolex
The most interesting part of the sale may not be that four watches reached £37.3 million — it is how differently collectors valued four pieces built around the same basic watch.
Every Four Seasons Daytona uses Rolex calibre 4131 and the familiar Cosmograph Daytona architecture. Yet the choice of metal, natural stone and gemstone transformed each one completely.
Summer reached £10.3 million. Autumn followed at £10.2 million. Winter achieved £10 million, while Spring sold for £6.8 million.
It is an extreme example, but the principle is familiar to anyone who has spent time looking at pre-owned watches: the reference may provide the foundation, but configuration matters. Dial colour, metal, bezel, bracelet and rarity can make two watches from the same family feel worlds apart.
That is also part of what makes the pre-owned market so enjoyable. You may begin looking for a Daytona, Datejust or GMT-Master and end up falling for one particular combination you had never considered before.
The Charles Fish Watch Edit
Four Seasons Inspiration, Ready for the Wrist
The Four Seasons Daytonas sit at the extreme end of Rolex collecting, but their strongest ideas translate beautifully into watches designed to be worn.
Winter leads us to a cool blue Datejust. Spring finds its green accent in the GMT-Master II “Sprite”. Summer stays within the Daytona family with warm rose gold and diamonds, while Autumn pairs the same chronograph DNA with rich yellow gold and black.
Four very different pre-owned Rolex watches, all linked by the same idea: a change of colour, metal or detail can give a familiar design an entirely new personality.
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