If you read our round-up of the best watches at this year’s FIFA World Cup and thought to yourself, ‘I wonder what else lies within Harry Kane’s enviable watch collection,’ well, now's your chance to go one further and bid on a reference the England captain frequently rocks every chance he gets.
On July 12, First State Auctions will kick off the single largest consignment of Swiss watches Australia has ever seen, headlined by the Rolex Cosmograph Daytona "Rainbow". It’s the first time this exact reference has ever gone under the hammer anywhere in the world, and is expected to fetch more than half a million dollars.
For the uninitiated, the piece earns its name with an opulent gradient of baguette-cut sapphires running the full spectrum, hand-selected and matched by Rolex's gem-setters. It’s outrageous, and no wonder why it’s one of the Swiss Maison’s most sought-after references for stars such as Mark Wahlberg, Post Malone, and Cristiano Ronaldo.
The dial follows suit, with diamond hour markers set against an 18-carat yellow gold. But for a piece of this inherent quality, its popularity comes from more than just aesthetics alone.
Underneath all that sparkle sits Rolex's formidable in-house chronograph movement, the calibre 4130: self-winding, column-wheel controlled, and about as tank-proof as haute horlogerie gets.
Consigned by an Australian tech founder and valued at over $2 million all up, the collection includes 96 luxury timepieces in total, including a diamond-set Richard Mille RM 016 worth around $150k, an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, an 18ct gold Rolex Submariner, plus a run of Datejust, an exquisite “Root Beer” GMT-Master II reference.
There’s also a line of unique-looking Cartier pieces like an 18ct yellow gold Roadster with a hugely appealing cream dial, for those after something slightly more attainable.
Beyond the watches, the wider sale throws in a 10-carat VVS1 diamond, a Hermès Birkin and a Paspaley pearl necklace for good measure.
The lots are split across two weekly online auctions: Auction 1 (500+ lots, including the Rainbow Daytona) runs live from Sunday, July 12 at 8:15 PM AEST, closing the following Sunday at 8 PM. Auction 2 (400+ lots) follows the week after – same format.
Every piece is verified in-house by First State's team of gemologists, horologists and maison specialists, so there's added peace of mind if you're bidding before seeing any of the lots in the metal. Registration is open now.
