Paul Newman's Rolex Daytona broke records when it became the most expensive watch ever to be sold at auction.
The watch was sold for a whopping $17.8 Million at Phillips Auction House in New York on Thursday, Business Insider reported.
Bidding for Paul Newman's watch opened at $1 million but a telephone bidder immediately offered $10 million for the timepiece.
A second telephone bidder offered to exceed that amount and soon it became a hotly contested affair as bids bounced back and forth between the two buyers.
Eventually the watch was sold for $17.8 million, making it about $6 million more expensive than the previous most expensive watch ever sold at auction, Business Insider noted.
The watch is described on the auction website as "an iconic, highly attractive, and historically important stainless steel chronograph wristwatch with off-white dial and tachymeter bezel."
The vintage piece was worn by Paul Newman in dozens of published photographs.
What makes this watch so special is the story behind it.
The 1968 model watch was a gift from Paul Newman's wife, Joanne Woodward, The New York Times noted.
At the time, Paul Newman was passionate about auto racing and the watch echoed that with an engraving, "Drive Carefully Me," at the back.
The watch was passed on to James Cox, who was dating Paul Newman's daughter, Nell Newman, in 1984.
"Paul asked me what time it was, to set his watch," Cox told The Wall Street Journal. "I replied, 'I don't know — I don't have a watch.' He was clearly surprised. So he said, 'Here, here's a watch. If you wind it, it tells pretty good time."
The sentimental gift remained with Cox for years, until he made the decision last year to auction it off and donate a portion of the proceeds to the environmental organization, Nell Newman Foundation, The New York Times reported.
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