Actor Pierre Png spotted wearing a Rolex

When the costume department on Crazy Rich Asians needed a timepiece to telegraph the effortless affluence of Pierre Png's character, they reached for one of the most recognizable grails in watchmaking — the Rolex Cosmograph Daytona ref. 6263 bearing the legendary 'Paul Newman' exotic dial. It is a choice that any serious collector would immediately notice and respect.

The ref. 6263 was produced by Rolex from approximately 1971 to 1988, representing the final evolution of the manually wound Daytona line before the brand transitioned to the calibre 4030-equipped ref. 16520. Powered by the Valjoux 727 movement — a hand-wound chronograph calibre renowned for its reliability and serviceability — the 6263 featured a screw-down push-piece case in 37mm stainless steel or gold, replacing the earlier pump-pusher design of its predecessor, the ref. 6262. The 'Paul Newman' designation refers to the exotic dial variant, distinguished by its art-deco-style subsidiary dials with alternating square and baton indices, a racing-inspired chapter ring, and bold contrasting registers. The nickname itself derives from actor Paul Newman's famous personal example, a ref. 6239, gifted to him by Joanne Woodward.

Among vintage Rolex collectors, the ref. 6263 Paul Newman occupies near-mythological status. Stainless steel examples with original, unrestored dials in strong condition represent some of the highest per-gram valuations in the entire secondary watch market. The 2017 Phillips auction of Paul Newman's own Daytona — a ref. 6239 rather than a 6263 — realized $17.75 million, effectively canonizing the Paul Newman designation forever. The 6263 in steel with an exotic dial regularly commands prices between $300,000 and well over $500,000 depending on condition, provenance, and dial configuration.

Pierre Png, best known to international audiences through his role as Michael Teo in Crazy Rich Asians, is one of Singapore's most prominent leading men with a career spanning television and film across two decades. His character's vintage Daytona is no throwaway detail — it functions as a fluent piece of visual storytelling, communicating inherited taste rather than conspicuous spending.

On the current grey market, a genuine ref. 6263 Paul Newman in collector-grade condition will rarely surface below $250,000, with exceptional examples pushing significantly higher. No retail equivalent exists; this is purely a vintage proposition, and its cultural cachet has never been stronger.