An “exceedingly rare” Rolex is due to auction in Geneva on November 11. The Oyster Perpetual was owned by Gordon Bethune, former CEO of Continental Airlines, and well-known watch collector.
To describe the watch in full, it is an 18k pink gold, automatic triple calendar wristwatch with moon phases and star hour markets; a signed Rolex, Oyster perpetual “Stelline” model, Ref. 6062. It was made around 1952.
The watch carries an estimate range of 1,200,000 to 2,200,000 Swiss francs, which is currently around £1 million to £2 million.
Christie’s describe the watch as a “highly acclaimed pink gold ‘Stelline’ or star dial reference 6062. In terms of originality and condition, it is quite simply an extraordinary survival, showing no signs of intervention and only minor signs of wear after almost 70 years.”
Gordon Bethune bought the watch directly from the estate of its original owner. Until he sold it at auction in 2012 it wasn’t known in the watch collecting community.
Since then it has changed hands a number of times.
The watch has shot up in value since it was first auctioned in 2012 by owner Gordon Bethune, the Continental Airlines boss. Image courtesy Christie’s.
In 2012, Mr Bethune sold much of his collection, donating some proceeds to charity. This watch realised $590,500.
In 2019, Phillips auctioned it for around £1.7 million.
Then, just last year, Christie’s sold it for just short of £2 million.
How it performs at auction almost exactly a year later will be a great measure of the watch market’s health.
Christie’s say: “The return to auction of this major-league reference 6062 ‘Stelline’ in pink gold offers international collectors a significant opportunity to obtain one of the very finest surviving examples of this landmark model with reassuring traceability and provenance.”
The reference was introduced in 1950 and produced for around a decade after that. It is one of only three Rolex watches with a triple calendar.
The Stelline dial records the stars used on the dial.
Writing in his Rolex Unicorns series, JX Su says of the watch’s 2019 sale: “The fact that collectors still refer to watches as coming from Mr Bethune’s collection indicates he had a sharp eye for sharply-preserved watches – and collectors also love a good, simple story – and a taste that largely remains current today. Provenance aside, this ref. 6062 is just one of the best examples of the model.”
Rolex is the most well-known of the great Swiss watch makers and is collected widely and across a huge range of values.
The most valuable Rolex watches often have a story or a link to particular owner. The record for the brand is $17.8 million. That was paid at auction in 2017 for a Rolex Daytona owned by Paul Newman.
Today, a rare “Rainbow” Daytona will be auctioned in Geneva with a top estimate of over £3 million.
The Bethune Stelline will be auctioned on November 11.
