World's Finest Rolex Collection Up for Auction

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed)
Nov 25th 2008 at 9:00AM

One of the world's finest collections of rare vintage and classic Rolex watches will take place in Milan in March. The collection, amassed by Italian Rolex enthusiast Davide Blei, is not the largest Rolex collection in the world but may well be the finest, on account of its unprecedented level of quality and exclusivity.

Blei acquired only "exquisite, rare and unique" examples of Rolex models, stressing quality over quantity and buying only the very best. The auction will be conducted by the newly formed Patrizzi auction house, and a preview is being held at Asprey in London next week.

The highlight of the sale is a pink gold "Stelline" Oyster Perpetual Chronometer with star indexes, estimated at $ 260,000 – $320,000.
Another standout is this stainless steel "Paul Newman" Cosmograph Daytona with white dial, black subdials and applied gold indexes, estimated at $58,000 – $87,000.

[Patrizzi via Hodinkee]

Tags: Milan, Rolex, Rolex Daytona, RolexDaytona