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Rare ex-Paul Newman Rolexes set to rocket at Sotheby’s this December

Rare ex-Paul Newman Rolexes set to rocket at Sotheby’s this December 10th August 2022

A pair of steel Rolex watches worn by stock car racer and Hollywood stuntman Stan Barrett when he set out to become the first person to break the speed of sound on land could realise more than $600,000 when they cross the block at Sotheby’s in December.

Barrett wore the Cosmograph Daytona and GMT-Master during the run on 17 December 1979, after which he was presented with a gold GMT-Master by August Busch, CEO of Anheuser-Busch, the main sponsor of the Budweiser Rocket Car and ‘Project Speed of Sound’.

That watch will also be auctioned and could realise $100,000, with a percentage of the money from the sale of all three pieces going to a Ukraine children’s charity that Barrett has supported since 1987.



But the estimates for the two steel watches could prove conservative – because both were given to Barrett by Hollywood idol Paul Newman, his best friend of 40 years and the godfather to his sons, NASCAR racing driver Stanton and television producer David.

As is well known, a Rolex Daytona gifted to Newman by wife Joanne Woodward remains the most expensive wristwatch ever auctioned following its sale for $17.7m at Phillips New York five years ago.

As a result, any Rolex with a Newman connection is now deemed ultra-valuable – and the latest two to come to market should be no exception.


Although 18 years Newman’s junior, Barrett formed a close relationship with the star after working as his main stuntman on numerous films, starting with ‘Sometimes a Great Notion’ in 1971 – a job for which Barrett was particularly well suited due to his remarkable resemblance to Newman.

Speaking by telephone from his home in Bellevue, Idaho, Barrett said Newman had given him the Daytona watch immediately on hearing about the proposed record attempt.

“We were at his home in Connecticut, and he just went upstairs and came down with the Daytona. He could be very funny about me having the right watch to wear and was always extremely generous.

“About four years earlier, after he had given me the GMT-Master, I bought the same model for my father – but it got stolen. The next thing we know, my father receives a replacement from Paul in the mail.”

Insatiable horophile Newman gifted several watches to Barrett throughout the friendship, including a Breitling Navitimer.

“That time I had arrived at his house without a watch on,” recalls Barrett. “Again, he went upstairs, and came down with this Breitling – and when he handed it over to me he said ‘Stan, be careful where you wear it. It was a present from Bruce Willis….’”



But it is the Rolex GMT-Master and Cosmograph Daytona now up for sale that are more interesting – not least since the former is tipped to realise $50,000 to $100,000, while the latter could realise as much as $500,000.

Barrett’s attempt to break the sound barrier on land took place at California’s Edwards Air Force Base but, while Newman was photographed trying the Budweiser Rocket Car for size during practice sessions at Bonneville Salt Flats earlier in the year, he refused to watch the run proper.

“Paul called me after the Bonneville runs - during one of which the car’s canopy blew off at 600 mph – and he said ‘Stan, look, I want to support you, but everyone says you aren’t going to make it. And I don’t want to watch you die,’” recalls Barrett.

To keep Newman by his side in spirit, Barrett strapped both watches to his left wrist – and that is where they remained while he drove the rocket car to an un-official 739.66mph, a speed that, if accurate, would have made him the first person to break the sound barrier on land.

But the record remains disputed due to the radar scanner being faulty, the fact that Barrett only completed one run and because no one heard the tell-tale ‘sonic boom’ that usually accompanies the sound barrier being broken.

All the same, no one else came close to the 700mph mark for another 18 years until Andy Green drove Thrust SSC to 713.990 mph at Black Rock desert in September 1997, and then to 760.343 mph the following month.

Sotheby’s watch specialist Jonathon Burford says the watches relating to the Budweiser Rocket Car run will appeal to a wide range of collectors.

“They are not simply watches, but a part of American history the like of which won’t be seen again,” he said.

“All three were part of a moment in time that epitomises the spirit of adventure that was so prevalent in America during the 1970s – and they will appeal to everyone from watch purists to motorsport fans and Hollywood memorabilia collectors.

“We have estimated them at what we believe to be realistic levels, but we do believe they are sufficiently significant to attract very strong bidding,” he added.

Barrett says he wore the two steel watches regularly and often for more than 30 years, as did his son, Stanton – until they saw the huge price realised by ‘Newman’s own’ Daytona back in 2017.

“When I saw how much that one sold for, I decided that maybe it wasn’t such a smart idea for us to keep wearing the watches that Paul had given me,” he said.

“I’ll be very sad to see them go, but it feels like the right thing to do. I’ll probably give around 30 per cent to the charity Slavic Gospel that I have worked with for the past 35 years and use the rest to pay-off my property loan”.

And unless Barrett has a very large loan, we suspect there might be some left-over…

The sale of the Stan Barrett/Paul Newman Rolex watches will take place at Sotheby’s, York Avenue, New York on 6 December 2022. More details available soon at sothebys.com. All three watches will be on show with RM Sotheby’s during Monterey Car Week, which runs from 12 to 21 August 2022.

All photos courtesy and copyright Sotheby’s