Which Rolex watch holds the record for highest auction price?

The Rolex watch holding the record for the highest auction price is Paul Newman's Daytona.

The watch was a stainless-steel Rolex Cosmograph Daytona, reference 6239, made in 1968. Joanne Woodward gave it to her husband, actor and racing enthusiast Paul Newman, whose name later became closely associated with exotic-dial Daytona watches.

James Cox, who received the watch from Newman in 1984, sold it through Phillips in New York on 26 October 2017. The winning bid was $15.5 million; after the buyer's premium, the final price reached $17,752,500. That made it the most expensive wristwatch ever sold at auction and the most expensive Rolex.

A common mix-up is confusing the watch's nickname with a separate model. “Paul Newman” refers primarily to a distinctive Daytona dial style, while this record-setting example is specifically the reference 6239 formerly owned by Newman.