Reference:neanderthal-daytona: Difference between revisions

The Neanderthal is a Paul Newman-configuration Rolex Cosmograph Daytona [[Reference:6240|6240]] presented at Phillips Daytona Ultimatum in Geneva on 12 May 2018 as the earliest known Paul Newman prototype. Sold at the auction for CHF 3,012,500 including premium — the second-most-expensive lot of the sale behind the [[Reference:unicorn-daytona|Unicorn 6265]]. The nickname "Neanderthal" refers to the dial's primitive or proto-Paul-Newman execution: earlier than any documented Mk1, with typography and sub-dial geometry that Phillips's catalogue essay positioned as pre-production. Jose Pereztroika's forensic dossier published at Perezcope in November 2022 disputes the prototype framing. The dossier argues the dial is a late-1990s construction built from a [[Reference:6238|6238]] Pre-Daytona donor, using forensic evidence from the April 1998 issue of the Italian magazine ''Orologi & Market'' and typeface analysis against authenticated Paul Newman Mk1 dials. Both positions sit on the public record; neither has been resolved in editorial.

== What the Neanderthal is ==