Rolex Is Auctioning Four One-Off Gem-Set Daytonas for Charity
Rolex is selling four unique gem-set Cosmograph Daytonas through Phillips in London on 28 September 2026. One watch for each season, each a single piece, each going up as its own lot rather than as a set. All proceeds are split evenly between the Federer Foundation and Re:wild. Rolex almost never sells watches at auction, and it does not put gem-set Daytonas like these in the public catalog at all, so this is a rare look at a corner of the brand most people only read about.
Last updated: September 3, 2026
Table of Contents
The full set, left to right: Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter. Image: Rolex
What Rolex Is Actually Selling
Four Oyster Perpetual Cosmograph Daytonas, built as one-of-one pieces, each one themed to a season. Spring is white gold. Summer is Everose. Autumn is yellow gold. Winter is 950 platinum. Every one of them has a dial cut from natural stone, a bezel set with colored gemstones, and diamonds on the lugs and crown guard.
Phillips is running the sale on 28 September 2026 in London, at a gala dinner rather than a standard saleroom session. The four watches are being offered individually, which means a buyer can take one season without committing to all four. Per SJX, the set was shown quietly at Watches & Wonders 2026 before this month's public announcement, which is why no press images of them circulated until now.
Rolex has not published pre-sale estimates for any of the four lots as of this writing.
The Four Watches, Season by Season
All four share the same lug and crown-guard treatment: 54 brilliant-cut diamonds, roughly 0.86 carats, per Rolex. Everything else changes. Here is how the four break down.
| Season | Case Metal | Bezel | Dial Stone | Counters |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 18 ct white gold | 36 trapeze-cut purple sapphires (approx. 5.57 ct) | Chrysoprase | Lepidolite |
| Summer | 18 ct Everose gold | 36 trapeze-cut pink sapphires (approx. 4.32 ct) | Turquoise | Heart of ruby |
| Autumn | 18 ct yellow gold | 36 trapeze-cut green tourmalines (approx. 4.32 ct) | Mookaite | Chrysoprase |
| Winter | 950 platinum | 36 trapeze-cut sapphires, blue to fuchsia gradient | Blue opal | Lapis lazuli |
Specifications per Rolex. "Heart of ruby" and "counters" are Rolex's own terms; counters are the chronograph sub-dials.
Spring: 18 ct white gold, 36 trapeze-cut purple sapphires, chrysoprase dial with lepidolite counters. Image: Rolex
Spring: White Gold and Purple Sapphires
Chrysoprase gives Spring a soft, opaque green dial, and the lepidolite counters come back at it in lilac. The bezel is 36 trapeze-cut purple sapphires at roughly 5.57 carats, the heaviest carat weight Rolex published for the set. Hour markers are eight baguette-cut and three square-cut purple sapphires in white gold settings. It is the most tonally aggressive of the set, green against purple, and it is the one that reads most clearly as a color exercise rather than a jewelry piece.
Summer: 18 ct Everose gold, 36 trapeze-cut pink sapphires, turquoise dial with ruby counters. Image: Rolex
Summer: Everose and Turquoise
Turquoise dial, ruby counters, pink sapphire bezel, Everose case. Rolex has done turquoise dials on the Daytona before. Pairing one with a full pink sapphire bezel and Everose is a combination we have not seen come through the secondary market. Everose is Rolex's own rose gold alloy with a small platinum content, which is what keeps the color from fading over the years. Of the four, this is the one that will photograph best, and we think it is the one that draws the most bidding attention on the night.
Autumn: 18 ct yellow gold, 36 trapeze-cut green tourmalines, mookaite dial with chrysoprase counters. Image: Rolex
Autumn: Yellow Gold and Tourmaline
Mookaite is a jasper, and the piece Rolex selected here runs a deep golden yellow, which is where the Autumn theme comes from. The counters are chrysoprase, so you get the same green that carries the Spring dial, used as an accent instead. The bezel is 36 trapeze-cut green tourmalines at roughly 4.32 carats. Green tourmaline shifts noticeably depending on the angle you view it from, so this bezel does something in person that a product photo cannot show.
Winter: 950 platinum, 36 trapeze-cut sapphires in a blue-to-fuchsia gradient, blue opal dial with lapis lazuli counters. Image: Rolex
Winter: Platinum and Opal
This is the one. 950 platinum case, a dial cut from blue opal, lapis lazuli counters, and a bezel of 36 trapeze-cut sapphires graduating from blue through to fuchsia. Unlike the other three, the hour markers here are diamonds, eight baguette-cut and three square-cut, set in white gold. Opal is difficult to work with and difficult to match, and no two opal dials look quite the same under light. Platinum is also the metal Rolex reserves for its most serious Daytonas, so pairing it with the hardest dial material in the set is a deliberate signal about which of the four is the centerpiece.
The Reference Numbers
Rolex identifies these watches by season in its auction announcement. The references circulating in the trade are 126599SAVL for Spring, 126595SARO for Summer, 126598TML for Autumn, and 126596SABV for Winter. Those line up cleanly with how Rolex numbers gem-set Daytonas, where the base reference indicates the metal and the suffix indicates the stone. 126595 is the Everose gem-set Daytona family, 126596 the platinum, 126598 the yellow gold, 126599 the white gold. Treat them as reported rather than confirmed by Rolex until Phillips publishes the lot listings.
Why This Is Unusual for Rolex
Two things stand out to us. The first is that Rolex is the seller. Rolex watches go through auction houses constantly, but almost always from private owners, estates, or dealers. Rolex consigning its own new production directly is rare enough that we cannot recall the last time it happened at this scale.
The second is what these watches are. Gem-set Daytonas at this level are not stock you order. They are allocated quietly to long-standing clients of the brand's biggest boutiques, they are not listed on rolex.com, and Rolex does not discuss them publicly. We work the secondary market for exactly these pieces, and getting a factory gem-set Daytona is about as hard as it gets in Rolex. An open auction with a published date is the opposite of how these normally move.
What Gem-Set Daytonas Actually Sell For
We are not financial advisors, and what follows is speculation based on what we see in this market every day, not investment advice.
There is one recent data point that matters more than any other. In November 2024, Phillips sold the original 1994 Rainbow Daytona, reference 16599SAAEC, in Geneva for CHF 5.5 million, about US$6.3 million. The pre-sale estimate had been around $3.5 million. Phillips called it an auction record for an automatic Daytona. That result tells you two things: Phillips knows how to sell a gem-set Daytona, and the ceiling on a genuinely unique one is a long way above the value of the metal and stones.
For a floor, look at what factory gem-set Daytonas trade at when they are not unique. Here is what we currently stock:
| Reference | Description | Our Price |
|---|---|---|
| 116595RBOW | Everose "Rainbow", diamond-paved dial and bracelet | $670,000 |
| 126595RBOW | Everose "Rainbow", current reference | Price on Request |
| 116595RBOW | Everose "Rainbow", diamond-paved dial, polished bracelet | $448,000 |
| 126555TBR | Everose, giraffe diamond dial, diamond bezel | $260,000 |
| 126576TBR | Platinum, diamond bezel, ice blue dial | $245,000 |
| 126595TBR | Everose, diamond lugs and bezel, sundust dial | $200,000 |
| 126579RBR | White gold, diamond bezel, black-and-white mother-of-pearl dial | $95,000 |
| 116588TBR | "Eye of the Tiger", yellow gold | Price on Request |
WatchesOff5th pricing as of September 3, 2026. All pre-owned or unworn, available now. References are linked to their live listings.
Those are serial-production gem-set Daytonas, and every one of them is currently in stock and available below. The Four Seasons watches are unique pieces, sold by Rolex itself, with charity money attached and a room full of people who came specifically for them. Every one of those factors pushes a hammer price up. We would not be surprised to see the platinum Winter piece clear seven figures, and we would not bet against all four doing it.
Where the Money Goes
Proceeds are split evenly between two organizations. The Federer Foundation, founded by Roger Federer in 2003, funds children's education programs in southern Africa and Switzerland. Re:wild was launched by a group of conservation scientists together with Leonardo DiCaprio and works on wildlife and habitat protection. Both Federer and DiCaprio have long-running relationships with Rolex, which is presumably how the two causes ended up sharing one sale.
Our Take
Every gem-set Daytona is its own thing, and what pulls someone toward one of these over another comes down to what clicks. We would take the Winter piece. Platinum and opal is a combination Rolex has flirted with and never committed to like this, and the graduated sapphire bezel is the most technically difficult part of the whole set to execute.
The larger point is that this sale puts a public number on watches that normally trade without one. Whatever the four hammer at on 28 September becomes the reference point every gem-set Daytona gets measured against for the next few years, including the ones we buy and sell. We will update this article with the results.
If you want a factory gem-set Daytona without waiting on a boutique allocation, that is the market we work in every day.
Frequently Asked Questions
When and where is the Rolex Four Seasons auction?
Phillips is conducting the sale on 28 September 2026 in London, at a gala dinner rather than a standard saleroom session. The four Daytonas are offered as four separate lots, so they can go to four different buyers.
How much are the Four Seasons Daytonas expected to sell for?
Rolex and Phillips had not published pre-sale estimates as of 3 September 2026. For context, the original 1994 Rainbow Daytona sold at Phillips in November 2024 for about US$6.3 million against a $3.5 million estimate. Serial-production gem-set Daytonas trade between roughly $95,000 and $670,000 in our current inventory, with a couple of pieces offered at price on request.
Can I buy one of these Daytonas from a Rolex boutique?
No. These are single pieces consigned by Rolex to a charity auction. The auction is the only route to ownership, and after 28 September the only route is whoever buys one deciding to sell it.
What are the Four Seasons Daytona reference numbers?
Reported in the trade as 126599SAVL (Spring, white gold), 126595SARO (Summer, Everose), 126598TML (Autumn, yellow gold) and 126596SABV (Winter, platinum). Rolex's own announcement identifies the watches by season, so treat these references as reported until Phillips publishes the lot listings.
Who benefits from the sale?
All proceeds are split evenly between the Federer Foundation, which funds children's education in southern Africa and Switzerland, and Re:wild, the conservation organization launched by conservation scientists with Leonardo DiCaprio.
Does Rolex normally sell watches at auction?
Rarely. Rolex watches appear at auction constantly, but almost always consigned by private owners, estates or dealers. Rolex consigning four pieces of its own new production directly is the unusual part of this story.
Sources and Methodology
Watch specifications, the auction date, the auction house and the charity split come from Rolex's own one-of-a-kind auction page. Additional reporting on the Watches & Wonders 2026 preview and the individual-lot structure comes from Hodinkee and SJX Watches. The November 2024 Rainbow Daytona result is from Phillips. Reference numbers are as reported in the trade and are not confirmed by Rolex. Pricing for the gem-set Daytonas in the comparison table is WatchesOff5th inventory pricing as of 3 September 2026 and changes with the market. Product images of the four watches are Rolex's own, shown from rolex.com and credited to Rolex. We are a pre-owned and grey-market dealer with no authorized-dealer relationship with Rolex.