Younger-watch friends may have never experienced the wonderful time when Paul Newman was an international superstar. Still, we hope that through this complete report, you can re-experience the touching story behind this classic watch.
Photo by Henry Leutwyler/Wall Street Journal
Paul Newman, who has always maintained the image of a good man, husband, and father in the American Hollywood film industry, was also an excellent racing driver passionate about speed in his youth. In the movie “Winning” released in the United States in 1969, Paul played a racing driver, Frank Capua. The film contained many fierce racing scenes that had never been seen before. The most amazing one was a chase with 17 cars. High-risk spectacular footage together.
Paul’s wife, Joanne Woodward, also a Hollywood actor, learned about the filming content during the filming of the movie and discovered that her husband seemed to be becoming more and more passionate about motorsports. She purchased a Rolex Cosmograph Daytona watch and asked someone to help him. The words “DRIVE CAREFULLY ME” are engraved on the back cover of the watch, telling him directly: “Dear, drive carefully.” This Ref.6239 should be produced between 1963 and 1970, equipped with exotic. The dial is also the first time Rolex has engraved the tachymeter directly on the bezel. Who makes the best replica watches?
Photo by Henry Leutwyler/Wall Street Journal
After the movie “Winning” became popular, Paul wore this watch publicly, especially in a magazine advertisement. Paul’s handsome face, holding his chin, made people pay attention to the Rolex Daytona on his left wrist. It was so impressive that among those who love Rolex, the Daytona with such an exotic face was named “Paul Newman.” However, why did this “Paul Newman” suddenly disappear for many years and reappear in 2016? This fate is closely related to Paul Newman’s eldest daughter, Nell Newman.
Unlike her Hollywood star parents, Nell never publicized her status as a famous actor while growing up. She even went to college under the pseudonym Nell Potts. During this period, she fell in love with a classmate, James Cox. They became a couple, and then Nell revealed his true identity to James. At a family gathering attended by James, Paul accidentally asked James the time. James confessed that he was not in the habit of wearing watches. After hearing this, Paul went back and found this Ref. 6239 Daytona watch and gave it to him. James reminded him sincerely: “As long as you remember to wind it every day, it will always be able to tell you the precise current time.”
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Afterward, even if James Cox did not maintain a relationship with Nell Newman, Paul never asked for the watch to be recovered, and James always wore it for a long time. One day, when he was shopping in the supermarket and preparing to check out, an Asian stranger in the queue pointed at his watch and exclaimed the name “Paul Newman.” For a moment, he wondered how anyone could know that this was from Paul Newman. It was a personal gift from Paul, so he came up with the idea of no longer wearing it publicly. Later, he learned about the critical representativeness of this watch from his friends, so he could only keep the watch locked in the cabinet for many years. Fake watches.
In 2016, James and Nell, who have always maintained a good relationship, jointly decided to put this watch up for auction to donate the proceeds from the auction to the Nell Newman Foundation and Newman’s Own Foundation. These two companies belong to the Newman family and value organic food. And a foundation for the development of permaculture. When I inquired about the relevant details with Phillips, the auction host, I was surprised to learn that besides the “Paul Newman,” there were two more purchased by Joanne Woodward at different times and given to her husband, Paul Newman, to wear. Members of the Newman family currently own Rolex watches. What is intriguing is that the words engraved on the back covers of these two Rolex watches still remind Paul Newman of the same thing: “DRIVE SLOWLY, JOANNE” and “DRIVE VERY SLOWLY, JOANNE.”
Engine: Rolex Calibre 7750/Mingzhu Engine
Brand: Rolex
Case Color: Silver-tone
Series: Daytona
Band Length: 19cm
Case Thickness: 16mm
Model: m116500ln-0001
Gender: Men’s