Watch Paparazzi

Rapper Drake spotted wearing Rolex

Drake's 36th birthday party delivered the kind of wrist sighting that sends collector forums into overdrive. The Toronto rapper stepped out wearing what is, without exaggeration, one of the most coveted vintage Rolex references on the planet: an 18-carat yellow gold Rolex Daytona 'Paul Newman' reference 6239, part of a production run believed to be limited to just 300 pieces. The watch was accompanied by a solid-link jubilee bracelet made to Rolex specifications — a detail that pushes rarity into a different stratosphere entirely, since the overwhelming majority of reference 6239 examples were supplied on the Oyster bracelet.

The Rolex Daytona reference 6239 was introduced in 1963 as the first Daytona to bear that name on the dial, powered by the manual-winding Valjoux 72 movement — a robust, column-wheel chronograph calibre respected for its precision and longevity. The 37 mm yellow gold case houses the so-called 'Paul Newman' dial, a term the market coined decades after production to describe the exotic square-font subdials, Art Deco-style numerals, and contrasting chapter rings that made these variants slow sellers in their day and absolute holy grails today. The gold dial version with black subsidiary counters is among the most visually dramatic executions in the entire 6239 lineage.

For collectors, the reference 6239 in yellow gold with a Paul Newman dial represents the intersection of every desirable variable: precious metal case, exotic dial, manual-winding movement, and correct period bracelet. The solid-link jubilee bracelet Drake's example wears is particularly significant — most surviving gold 6239s lost their original bracelets decades ago, and finding one with a documented, period-correct jubilee intact meaningfully elevates both provenance and value. Auction records for gold Paul Newman Daytonas in general have broken the seven-figure threshold, with condition and bracelet originality being decisive pricing factors.

Drake has long demonstrated genuine horological seriousness rather than simple trophy collecting. His collection is known to include multiple six-figure and seven-figure timepieces, and his choice of a historically significant vintage reference over a contemporary luxury watch signals an understanding of what the collector community actually values.

On the current market, gold Paul Newman Daytona reference 6239 examples in strong condition command prices well north of one million dollars at major auction houses, with the jubilee bracelet configuration adding a substantial premium. No official retail price exists for a watch that left production over fifty years ago.