There are charity auctions, and then there are charity auctions involving four one of one Rolex Daytonas. As part of the Perpetual Planet Initiative, Rolex has joined forces with its Testimonees Roger Federer and Leonardo DiCaprio for the Rolex Four Seasons event, bringing together four unique versions of the Oyster Perpetual Cosmograph Daytona. Each watch represents a different season, with its own combination of precious metal, natural stone, coloured gemstones and diamonds. The four lots will be auctioned by PHILLIPS in London on 28 September, with every penny raised going towards the Federer Foundation and Re.
It is a meeting of luxury watchmaking and philanthropy, but also of two causes that Federer and DiCaprio have spent years supporting. Established in 2003, the Federer Foundation works to give children in Southern Africa and Switzerland opportunities to learn, play and thrive. Re, meanwhile, was launched by conservation scientists alongside DiCaprio and focuses on protecting and restoring the natural world by working with Indigenous Peoples, local communities and conservation organisations. And then there are the watches.
Four Seasons, Four Personalities
Rolex has interpreted the four seasons through an unusually lavish combination of materials and colour. Each Daytona is a unique piece, with cases ranging from 18 ct white, Everose and yellow gold to 950 platinum. Their dials use carefully selected natural stones, while the bezels, hour markers, lugs and crown guards are covered in coloured gemstones and diamonds. Despite their radically different appearances, all four share the same mechanical heart: Rolex’s Calibre 4131. The self winding chronograph movement offers approximately 72 hours of power reserve and carries Rolex’s Superlative Chronometer certification. In other words, these are not simply decorative watches created for an auction. Beneath all that gemstone excess is a serious mechanical chronograph.
Spring Blooms In Purple
The Spring Daytona is perhaps the most immediately flamboyant of the four. Its 18 ct white gold case surrounds a dial crafted from chrysoprase, with counters made from lepidolite. Eight baguette cut purple sapphires and three square cut purple sapphires form the hour markers, all set in white gold. The purple theme continues around the case with a bezel set with 36 trapeze cut purple sapphires, weighing approximately 5.57 carats in total. The lugs and crown guards receive another 54 brilliant cut diamonds, adding approximately 0.86 carats. It is spring as imagined by someone with an exceptionally large jewellery budget.
Summer Turns Up The Heat
Summer moves into warmer territory with an 18 ct Everose gold case and a turquoise dial featuring counters crafted from ruby heart. The hour markers are made up of eight baguette cut pink sapphires and three square cut pink sapphires, set in 18 ct pink gold. Around them sits a bezel carrying 36 trapeze cut pink sapphires, totalling approximately 4.32 carats. As with the Spring model, 54 brilliant cut diamonds decorate the lugs and crown guards. The result is perhaps the most unabashedly glamorous of the quartet, combining turquoise, pink and Everose gold in a watch that makes subtlety seem like an unnecessary complication.
Autumn Goes Green
Autumn takes a more earthy approach. Its 18 ct yellow gold case frames a dial made from mookaite, with counters crafted from chrysoprase. The hour markers use eight baguette cut green tourmalines and three square cut green tourmalines, set in yellow gold. The bezel continues the green theme with 36 trapeze cut green tourmalines, weighing approximately 4.32 carats. Another 54 brilliant cut diamonds illuminate the lugs and crown guards. Of the four, this may be the Daytona that feels closest to its natural inspiration, with the colours of stone and gemstone creating a palette that recalls changing leaves and the deeper tones of autumn.
Winter Brings The Drama
And then there is Winter. Presented in 950 platinum, the most precious of the four cases surrounds a dial made from blue opal, with counters in lapis lazuli. The hour markers are deliberately more restrained, using eight baguette cut diamonds and three square cut diamonds set in 18 ct white gold.. The bezel, however, is anything but restrained. It carries 36 trapeze cut sapphires arranged in a blue to fuchsia gradient, weighing approximately 5.57 carats. As with the other three watches, 54 brilliant cut diamonds decorate the lugs and crown guards. It is an appropriately dramatic interpretation of winter, with the blue opal and lapis lazuli providing a deep backdrop while the sapphire gradient adds a burst of colour around the wrist.
When Luxury Does Some Good
The Rolex Four Seasons auction is ultimately about more than four extraordinarily complicated looking jewellery pieces. It brings together Rolex’s expertise in gem setting and watchmaking with the philanthropic work of two of its most prominent Testimonees. Federer has spent more than two decades working through his foundation to expand educational opportunities, while DiCaprio has become one of the most recognisable advocates for environmental conservation through Re.
The watches therefore carry two very different kinds of value. There is the obvious value of the precious metals, rare natural stones, diamonds and mechanical movements. Then there is the considerably more important value created when those watches are sold and the proceeds are directed towards causes intended to make a lasting difference. On 28 September, collectors will have the chance to bid on four watches that will never be repeated in exactly the same form. Four seasons. Four Daytonas. Four pieces of Rolex craftsmanship. And, perhaps most importantly, four opportunities for luxury to leave the wrist and do some good in the real world.
