Reference:albino-daytona: Difference between revisions

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{{#seo:

|title=Rolex 'Albino' Daytona — Eric Clapton's 6263 | BezelBase

|description=The Albino Rolex Cosmograph Daytona 6263 — a white-on-white monochromatic dial documented on three examples. Eric Clapton's ~~example~~ traded ~~from USD 50~~,~~190~~ at ~~Christie's~~ in ~~2003 to USD 952~~,~~500~~ at Sotheby's in 2025. The factory-versus-Tom-Bolt-construction dispute between Hodinkee (2013) and Perezcope (2025) remains unresolved in editorial.

|description=The Albino Rolex Cosmograph Daytona 6263 — a white-on-white monochromatic dial documented on three examples. Eric Clapton's traded three times, last at Phillips in May 2015 for CHF 1,325,000. A separate third example, case 2648447, sold at Sotheby's Abu Dhabi in December 2025 for USD 952,500. The factory-versus-Tom-Bolt-construction dispute between Hodinkee (2013) and Perezcope (2025) remains unresolved in editorial.

|keywords=Albino Daytona, Albino 6263, Rolex Albino, Eric Clapton Daytona, Tom Bolt, Perezcope Albino, Phillips Clapton, white dial 6263, Rolex Cosmograph Albino

|image=Ref 6263 albino-hero.webp

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= Albino Daytona (6263) =

The Albino is a white-on-white dial fitted to the [[Reference:6263|6263]]: silver sub-dials on a white base, with "Rolex Oyster Cosmograph" at 12 and no Daytona line above 6. Three examples are documented~~. The~~ best-known is Eric Clapton's~~, which moved from Christie's in 2003 at USD 50,190 to Sotheby's Abu Dhabi in 2025 at USD 952,500~~. The ~~watch~~ sits at the center of the sharpest authenticity fight in manual-wind Daytona collecting, and that fight is still unresolved.

The Albino is a white-on-white dial fitted to the [[Reference:6263|6263]]: silver sub-dials on a white base, with "Rolex Oyster Cosmograph" at 12 and no Daytona line above 6. Three examples are documented, the best known of them Eric Clapton's. The dial sits at the center of the sharpest authenticity fight in manual-wind Daytona collecting, and that fight is still unresolved.

[[File:Ref 6263 albino-hero.webp|thumb|right|250px|alt=Albino Rolex Cosmograph Daytona 6263, case 2648447, Sotheby's Abu Dhabi Lot 340, sold USD 952,500 on 5 December 2025|Albino Rolex Cosmograph Daytona 6263, case 2648447, Sotheby's Abu Dhabi Lot 340, sold USD 952,500 on 5 December 2025]]

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=== Eric Clapton's Albino ===

The most-traded and best-documented example. Clapton's watch has surfaced at ~~four~~ public sales over ~~twenty-two~~ years:

The most-traded and best-documented example. Clapton's watch has surfaced at three public sales over twelve years:

{| class="wikitable"

|-

! Sale !! Date !! Price ~~(USD)~~ !! Notes

! Sale !! Date !! Price !! Notes

|-

| Christie's New York || June 2003 || 50,190 || First public sale. Sold out of Clapton's collection into private hands.

| Christie's New York || June 2003 || USD 50,190 || First public sale. Sold out of Clapton's collection into private hands.

|-

| Sotheby's || 2008 || ~505,000 || Second public sale. About ten-fold appreciation over five years.

| Sotheby's || 2008 || ~USD 505,000 || Second public sale. About ten-fold appreciation over five years.

|-

| Phillips, Geneva || May 2015 || 1,325,000 ~~CHF~~ (~USD 1.42M) || Third public sale~~. The 2015 result triggered the first editorial dispute coverage in Hodinkee's contemporaneous reporting.~~

| Phillips, Geneva || May 2015 || CHF 1,325,000 (~USD 1.42M) || Third public sale, and the last recorded result for this watch.

|-

~~| Sotheby's Abu Dhabi || 5 December 2025 || 952~~,~~500 || Fourth public sale. Lot 340. Drop from~~ the ~~2015 ceiling reflects the forensic questions Perezcope raised in December 2025 — two days before the Sotheby's sale~~.

|}

=== The second and third examples ===

~~Two further Albino examples appear~~ in the literature~~, usually~~ attributed to John Goldberger's collection~~. Public~~ documentation ~~on both is thinner~~ than on the Clapton watch.

A second example appears in the literature attributed to John Goldberger's collection, with thinner public documentation than the Clapton watch carries. The third is case 2648447, a separate watch from Clapton's, which Sotheby's Abu Dhabi sold as Lot 340 on 5 December 2025 for USD 952,500 including premium against a USD 750,000 hammer. Its previous owner was reported to have paid close to USD 3 million.

== The three-way authenticity dispute ==

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=== Sotheby's Abu Dhabi (December 2025) — "origins unknown" ===

Sotheby's Abu Dhabi sold the third Albino example in December 2025 for USD 952,500. ~~The~~ catalogue described the dial as of unknown origin, ~~declining to endorse either~~ the factory-variant reading or the later-construction reading ~~even after Perezcope had published and Bolt had reportedly briefed the house directly~~.

Sotheby's Abu Dhabi sold the third Albino example, case 2648447, on 5 December 2025 for USD 952,500. Perezcope's dossier had gone up two days earlier and Bolt had reportedly briefed the house directly the day before that, and the catalogue still described the dial as of unknown origin, endorsing neither the factory-variant reading nor the later-construction reading.

== Why the dispute matters ==

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- [[Reference:6238|Reference 6238]] — the alleged donor-dial reference

== ~~Source list~~ ==

== Sources ==

* [https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/the-first-rolex-daytona-by-benjamin-clymer Historical Perspectives: The Very First Rolex Daytona, Explained] — Benjamin Clymer, Hodinkee, 2013

@@ Line 2: / Line 2: @@
 {{#seo:
 |title=Rolex 'Albino' Daytona — Eric Clapton's 6263 &#124; BezelBase
-|description=The Albino Rolex Cosmograph Daytona 6263 — a white-on-white monochromatic dial documented on three examples. Eric Clapton's example traded from USD 50,190 at Christie's in 2003 to USD 952,500 at Sotheby's in 2025. The factory-versus-Tom-Bolt-construction dispute between Hodinkee (2013) and Perezcope (2025) remains unresolved in editorial.
+|description=The Albino Rolex Cosmograph Daytona 6263 — a white-on-white monochromatic dial documented on three examples. Eric Clapton's traded three times, last at Phillips in May 2015 for CHF 1,325,000. A separate third example, case 2648447, sold at Sotheby's Abu Dhabi in December 2025 for USD 952,500. The factory-versus-Tom-Bolt-construction dispute between Hodinkee (2013) and Perezcope (2025) remains unresolved in editorial.
 |keywords=Albino Daytona, Albino 6263, Rolex Albino, Eric Clapton Daytona, Tom Bolt, Perezcope Albino, Phillips Clapton, white dial 6263, Rolex Cosmograph Albino
 |image=Ref 6263 albino-hero.webp
@@ Line 17: / Line 17: @@
 = Albino Daytona (6263) =
-The Albino is a white-on-white dial fitted to the [[Reference:6263|6263]]: silver sub-dials on a white base, with "Rolex Oyster Cosmograph" at 12 and no Daytona line above 6. Three examples are documented. The best-known is Eric Clapton's, which moved from Christie's in 2003 at USD 50,190 to Sotheby's Abu Dhabi in 2025 at USD 952,500. The watch sits at the center of the sharpest authenticity fight in manual-wind Daytona collecting, and that fight is still unresolved.
+The Albino is a white-on-white dial fitted to the [[Reference:6263|6263]]: silver sub-dials on a white base, with "Rolex Oyster Cosmograph" at 12 and no Daytona line above 6. Three examples are documented, the best known of them Eric Clapton's. The dial sits at the center of the sharpest authenticity fight in manual-wind Daytona collecting, and that fight is still unresolved.
 [[File:Ref 6263 albino-hero.webp|thumb|right|250px|alt=Albino Rolex Cosmograph Daytona 6263, case 2648447, Sotheby's Abu Dhabi Lot 340, sold USD 952,500 on 5 December 2025|Albino Rolex Cosmograph Daytona 6263, case 2648447, Sotheby's Abu Dhabi Lot 340, sold USD 952,500 on 5 December 2025]]
@@ Line 31: / Line 31: @@
 === Eric Clapton's Albino ===
-The most-traded and best-documented example. Clapton's watch has surfaced at four public sales over twenty-two years:
+The most-traded and best-documented example. Clapton's watch has surfaced at three public sales over twelve years:
 {| class="wikitable"
 |-
-! Sale !! Date !! Price (USD) !! Notes
+! Sale !! Date !! Price !! Notes
 |-
-| Christie's New York || June 2003 || 50,190 || First public sale. Sold out of Clapton's collection into private hands.
+| Christie's New York || June 2003 || USD 50,190 || First public sale. Sold out of Clapton's collection into private hands.
 |-
-| Sotheby's || 2008 || ~505,000 || Second public sale. About ten-fold appreciation over five years.
+| Sotheby's || 2008 || ~USD 505,000 || Second public sale. About ten-fold appreciation over five years.
 |-
-| Phillips, Geneva || May 2015 || 1,325,000 CHF (~USD 1.42M) || Third public sale. The 2015 result triggered the first editorial dispute coverage in Hodinkee's contemporaneous reporting.
+| Phillips, Geneva || May 2015 || CHF 1,325,000 (~USD 1.42M) || Third public sale, and the last recorded result for this watch.
-|-
-| Sotheby's Abu Dhabi || 5 December 2025 || 952,500 || Fourth public sale. Lot 340. Drop from the 2015 ceiling reflects the forensic questions Perezcope raised in December 2025 — two days before the Sotheby's sale.
 |}
 === The second and third examples ===
-Two further Albino examples appear in the literature, usually attributed to John Goldberger's collection. Public documentation on both is thinner than on the Clapton watch.
+A second example appears in the literature attributed to John Goldberger's collection, with thinner public documentation than the Clapton watch carries. The third is case 2648447, a separate watch from Clapton's, which Sotheby's Abu Dhabi sold as Lot 340 on 5 December 2025 for USD 952,500 including premium against a USD 750,000 hammer. Its previous owner was reported to have paid close to USD 3 million.
 == The three-way authenticity dispute ==
@@ Line 73: / Line 71: @@
 === Sotheby's Abu Dhabi (December 2025) — "origins unknown" ===
-Sotheby's Abu Dhabi sold the third Albino example in December 2025 for USD 952,500. The catalogue described the dial as of unknown origin, declining to endorse either the factory-variant reading or the later-construction reading even after Perezcope had published and Bolt had reportedly briefed the house directly.
+Sotheby's Abu Dhabi sold the third Albino example, case 2648447, on 5 December 2025 for USD 952,500. Perezcope's dossier had gone up two days earlier and Bolt had reportedly briefed the house directly the day before that, and the catalogue still described the dial as of unknown origin, endorsing neither the factory-variant reading nor the later-construction reading.
 == Why the dispute matters ==
@@ Line 94: / Line 92: @@
 - [[Reference:6238|Reference 6238]] — the alleged donor-dial reference
-== Source list ==
+== Sources ==
 * [https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/the-first-rolex-daytona-by-benjamin-clymer Historical Perspectives: The Very First Rolex Daytona, Explained] — Benjamin Clymer, Hodinkee, 2013