Strong results for vintage Rolex, modern gold sports references, and high-complication Patek and Lange models powered Heritage’s April 24 fine timepieces sale.
By Intelligent Collector Staff | April 27, 2026
Heritage Auctions’ April 24 Watches & Fine Timepieces Signature® Auction finished at $2,512,763, with bidding strength spread across vintage Rolex sports models, modern precious-metal references, and classic high-complication pieces from Patek Philippe and other prestige makers.
The top lot was a vintage Rolex chronograph: the Rolex “Big Red” Oyster Cosmograph Daytona, Ref. 6265/6263 (circa 1979), which realized $65,625 after 21 bids. Among collectors, the “Big Red” nickname refers to the bold red DAYTONA signature on the dial—an instantly legible detail that often separates “great Daytona” from “great Daytona variant” in the market.
Two other $60,000 results underscored how demand is currently moving in parallel across both modern Rolex and modern luxury sports watches. A Rolex Oyster Perpetual Date DeepSea Full Set, Ref. 136668LB realized $60,000, and an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Klein Blue Dial Full Set also reached $60,000.
On the high-complication side, a classic Patek perpetual calendar led the brand’s highlights: the Patek Philippe Ref. 3940, 18k Gold Perpetual Calendar with Moon Phase brought $58,750, narrowly ahead of the Patek Philippe Ref. 5040P-013 Platinum Tonneau Automatic Perpetual Calendar with Moon Phase at $43,750. These are the kinds of “reference-driven” results that tend to hold collector attention: the price is not just about a complication, but about which generation and configuration of an enduring model line.
Several additional lots clustered around $40,000, reflecting the auction’s breadth. Those included the Rolex Sky-Dweller Yellow Gold Full Set, Ref. 326938, the A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1, Platinum, Ref. 191.025, and the L. Leroy Osmior Tourbillon 18K Rose Gold Automatic Regulator Wristwatch, Ref. LL106. Modern Daytona demand also showed up in the Rolex Daytona Chocolate Dial Full Set, Ref. 116505 and the Rolex Cosmograph Daytona OysterFlex Full Set, Ref. 116515LN.
Rounding out the top-results mix were travel and anniversary references that continue to benefit from “collectible modern” logic: the Vacheron Constantin Dual Time 18k Full Set, Ref. 7920V, the Patek Philippe Ref. 3969R “Jump Hour” 150th Anniversary Edition, the Rolex GMT Master II Full Set, Ref. 126718GRNR, and the vintage-leaning Rolex Ref. 1675 Gold “Root Beer” GMT-Master (circa 1972).
Taken together, the auction read as a market that is still rewarding legible “collector identifiers”—clear reference numbers, distinctive dial variants, full-set modern offerings, and complication-driven classics—rather than drifting toward a single trend.
Source: Heritage Auctions press release (April 27, 2026).