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When it comes to collectible Rolex watches, there are multiple tiers. At the baseline, no watch in the catalog is more collectible than the Daytona. Add in a few diamonds—maybe arranged in a rainbow—and you have the subject of a massive bidding war. Dial configurations and tiny flourishes in the design that make a watch even more scarce will drive the price up even higher. Today, Sotheby’s is announcing a watch that ticks all those boxes and more: a Daytona estimated to sell for $1.6 million at auction.

Rolex is roughly as secretive as a three-letter agency in a Tom Clancy novel. While the cryptic approach can sometimes be frustrating to outsiders, it only adds to the company’s mystique and ultimately fuels demand. Given this air of secrecy, it’s not particularly surprising that very little is known about this pièce unique Daytona produced in 1999 for a mysterious “private collector”. The story—such as it is—goes like this: A high-powered figure/collector commissioned four platinum Cosmograph Daytonas, each with special dials. Three were supposedly given away as gifts, and one was kept. The three watches that were given away were all sold by Sotheby’s in 2018, 2020, and 2021, with one lapis lazuli example hammering for $3.2 million.

What makes these watches so incredibly special is that Rolex doesn’t really make private commissions—ever. This special edition has it all, innovating on one of its flagship watches with brand-new materials never used with its racing watch before. Back in 1999, there was no such thing as a platinum Daytona, and there wouldn’t be for over a decade. Rolex eventually brought a platinum Daytona to the main catalog in 2013 for the model’s 50th anniversary.

So who exactly had the power to commission these special watches? Was it super-collector Eric Clapton? John Mayer with a time machine? The prevailing rumor is that it was actually Rolex’s then-CEO, Patrick Heiniger, who had them made. Further substantiating this idea is that the former king of the Crown was spotted wearing a platinum Daytona before they were ever made. Heiniger was only the third CEO in the company’s history and held the top job from 1992 to 2008. (He passed away in 2013 at the age of 62 following a long illness.) Rumors swirled in the industry about the existence of these early platinum Daytonas for years, but they were never confirmed until the “gift” watches finally came to auction near the end of last decade. The last watch in this set is the one coming to Sotheby’s on May 11th and made all the more special because it was thought to be Heiniger’s personal timepiece.

This the type of quirky watch that should prove to be absolute catnip to dedicated Rolex collectors—the association with Heiniger, its place as one of the first platinum Daytonas, and the history surrounding its commission are sure to blow the estimate of $800,000 to $1,600,000 right out of the water. The special edition of ref. 16516 is housed in a 40-mm platinum case and features a mother-of-pearl dial, diamond indices, and an automatic movement from Zenith. (The manufacturer’s famous El Primero powered the Daytona from 1988 through 2000, before Rolex started outfitting the model with its in-house movement.) Nothing about this Daytona is typical, including the red alligator leather strap where there is typically a bracelet.

The existence of pièce unique watches such as these are, at the end of the day, what make watch collecting fun—the story, the speculation, and the auction fervor is all part of the game. That’s especially true when they come from a brand whose production process is largely assembly line-driven and which supposedly produces well over a million pieces per year. There’s something charming about the idea of Heiniger tapping a Rolex watchmaker over the shoulder and asking him to work on a special project. Even though the full details of the commission may never be made public, the watch—and the mystique surrounding it—speaks for itself.