Jerry Seinfeld Sends Vic Elford's 1968 Rolex Daytona to Phillips
A steel Daytona presented after the 1968 24 Hours of Daytona is coming to auction with a paper trail that most race watches never had.
Phillips will offer the steel Rolex Cosmograph Daytona ref. 6239 presented to British driver Vic Elford after he won the 1968 24 Hours of Daytona. Phillips calls it the first documented Daytona awarded to a race winner. It comes from Jerry Seinfeld's collection and is in The New York Watch Auction: XV on 5 to 6 December 2026.
The watch and the race
On 13 October 2026 Phillips, in association with Bacs & Russo, announced that it will sell the Rolex Cosmograph Daytona presented to Vic Elford after the 1968 24 Hours of Daytona. Elford, the English driver known as "Quick Vic", won the race in a Porsche 907 longtail. Phillips says it was Porsche's first victory in a 24-hour endurance race, two years before its first Le Mans win, and that a photograph taken just after the race records the presentation of the watch.
The watch is a stainless steel reference 6239, the first Daytona reference. Phillips says it is the first documented Daytona ever awarded to the winner of a motor race, the start of a tradition that still runs today. Paul Boutros, Phillips' head of watches in the Americas, called it one of the most compelling "trophy watches" to come to auction.
How Seinfeld came to own it
Jerry Seinfeld bought the winning Porsche 907 at auction in 2014 and later acquired the watch, reuniting the car and the prize. He said the two "made history together". Phillips says he then had the watch sympathetically restored to how it looked in 1968: the hands colour matched to the dial markers, a period-correct domed crystal fitted, a rivet repaired on the original riveted Oyster bracelet, and a period presentation box added.
The watch is touring London, Geneva and Hong Kong before the New York sale. Phillips has published an estimate of $100,000 to $200,000.
Why the paperwork matters
Plenty of vintage Daytonas exist. What sets this one apart is that its story can be proved. Phillips lists a 2010 letter from Rolex U.S.A. confirming the watch and its 1968 presentation, a provenance letter signed by Elford, chain-of-custody records, a 2005 Rolex service invoice addressed to Elford with the matching serial number, and records of the restoration. Each document closes a gap a buyer would otherwise have to take on trust.
Phillips is also open about what has changed since 1968. Collectors increasingly want that honesty: a watch that has been serviced or restored is not a problem in itself, as long as the work is recorded and the buyer knows exactly what is original.
What this means if you own a Rolex
Few watches come with a race win attached, but the same principles apply to every Rolex we see. The reference and dial variant, the original box and papers, service records, and whether the dial, hands and bracelet are original all shape how much interest a watch attracts. Keep every receipt, letter and service invoice with the watch, and do not polish or replace parts before you have it looked at. If you are thinking of selling, ask for a valuation of the watch itself, not a quick figure over the phone.
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- Phillips press release, "Phillips to offer a landmark of motorsport history: Vic Elford's historic Rolex Daytona from the collection of Jerry Seinfeld", 13 Oct 2026
- duPont Registry, "Jerry Seinfeld's Vic Elford-owned Rolex Daytona heads to auction"
Facts and estimate as published by Phillips. Mozeris Fine Antiques is not connected with Phillips, Bacs & Russo or Rolex. No auction-house images are used; the photograph shows a watch from our own stock.
