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Television presenter Trevor Noah spotted wearing Rolex

Trevor Noah arrived at the Hollywood studios of Jimmy Kimmel Live with considerably more than a television appearance on his agenda. On his wrist sat a stainless steel Rolex Cosmograph Daytona reference 6264 bearing one of the most coveted dial configurations in vintage horology — the so-called Paul Newman exotic dial. It is the kind of watch that stops serious collectors mid-sentence.

The Rolex Daytona ref. 6264 occupied a narrow production window, manufactured from approximately 1969 to 1972, which makes surviving examples genuinely scarce. The reference is distinguished from its sibling 6263 by its pump-style pushers rather than screw-down, and it runs on the Valjoux 727 — a hand-wound, column-wheel chronograph calibre beating at 18,000 vph. The Paul Newman designation applies to a specific exotic dial variant featuring squared-off sub-dial numerals, an art-deco minute track, and contrasting colour registers — characteristics that initially made the watches slow sellers in the 1970s and transformed them into the most desirable Daytonas on earth decades later.

Within the ref. 6264 family, the stainless steel Paul Newman configuration is the holy grail. Gold-cased versions exist, but the steel examples carry greater collector cachet precisely because steel Daytonas of this era were considered utilitarian — far fewer were preserved with care. Dial originality is everything: restored or re-dialled examples are immediately discounted, while untouched, patinated originals attract fierce bidding at Phillips, Christie's, and Sotheby's.

Trevor Noah, the South African comedian and former host of The Daily Show, has cultivated a reputation as a genuine watch collector rather than a celebrity who simply acquires conspicuous luxury. Spotting a ref. 6264 Paul Newman on his wrist — rather than a contemporary ceramic Daytona or a safe Submariner — signals real engagement with horological history and the vintage market.

At current market levels, a stainless steel Rolex Daytona 6264 Paul Newman in honest condition realistically trades between $200,000 and $300,000 on the grey and auction markets, with exceptional dial examples eclipsing that range. The $250,000 valuation attached to Noah's piece is entirely credible, and if anything conservative should the dial prove especially clean. No retail equivalent exists — this is purely a vintage proposition.