Rolex is doing something it almost never does with its watches. Instead of quietly producing another limited run of the Cosmograph Daytona, the Swiss watchmaker has created four completely unique examples and is sending them straight to auction, with the proceeds going to charity. Called Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter, the four Daytonas mix precious metals, unusual natural stones, colorful gemstones, and diamonds in ways that turn Rolex’s famous racing chronograph into something far more extravagant. Phillips will sell them as four separate lots in London on September 28, with the proceeds benefiting charity organizations founded by Leonardo DiCaprio and Roger Federer.
According to Watches by SJX, the watches had already made a quiet appearance at Watches and Wonders 2026, displayed on an upper floor of Rolex’s booth where photography was not permitted. That helps explain why the four watches seemed to appear almost out of nowhere when Rolex finally announced the project. The secrecy is fitting because Rolex rarely publicly confirms that a modern watch is genuinely one of one. While it’s being branded as Rolex’s first charity auction, the iconic watch brand itself has chosen to describe the sale as an “exceptional” initiative rather than formally billing it as a first.
Four Daytonas that look nothing alike
Spring, reference 126599 SAVL, gets a 40 mm white-gold case and a chrysoprase dial with lepidolite counters. Thirty-six purple sapphires, totaling about 5.57 carats, replace the Daytona’s familiar tachymeter bezel, while another 11 purple sapphires mark the hours.
Summer, reference 126595 SARO, takes a warmer approach with an Everose-gold case, turquoise dial, and heart-of-ruby counters. Its bezel carries 36 pink sapphires totaling about 4.32 carats, with 11 more pink sapphires used as hour markers. Despite the name, “heart of ruby” does not mean heart-shaped rubies. It is Rolex’s term for the ruby material used to decorate the Summer’s chronograph counters.
Autumn, reference 126598 TML, is perhaps the earthiest of the four, pairing a yellow-gold case with a naturally patterned mookaite dial and chrysoprase counters. Its bezel contains 36 green tourmalines totaling about 4.32 carats, accompanied by 11 matching tourmaline hour markers.
Winter, reference 126596 SABV, goes in the opposite direction with a platinum case, blue-opal dial, and lapis-lazuli counters. Its 36 sapphires shift gradually from blue to fuchsia around the bezel, totaling about 5.57 carats, while 11 diamonds mark the hours. Every watch also has 54 brilliant-cut diamonds set into its lugs and crown guards, bringing the four-watch collection to 404 individually specified gemstones and diamonds.
A Daytona with a very different purpose
The natural stones are part of what makes the watches genuinely unique. Chrysoprase, turquoise, mookaite, and blue opal naturally vary from one piece to another, meaning even another dial made from the same material would not look exactly the same. Rolex’s gemologists select and sort the stones before they are set by hand, with the bezels requiring particularly careful matching. The result is a collection that looks more like four pieces of high jewelry than traditional racing watches, even though the mechanical heart remains pure Daytona. All four use Rolex’s Calibre 4131 movement with approximately 72 hours of power reserve and Superlative Chronometer certification.
There is an intriguing backstory to how the four watches ended up at auction. Rolex initially intended to place the quartet with a single collector for around CHF 4 million (about $5 million), but interest reportedly became overwhelming, with more than 1,000 potential buyers put forward during the selection process. The watches also attracted private approaches, with one individual willing to shell out $10 million, underscoring the appetite for a set that could never be replicated. Rather than choosing one collector behind closed doors, Rolex ultimately turned the extraordinary demand into an opportunity for charity. The four Daytonas will now be sold individually, giving four bidders the chance to own a piece of what was originally conceived as a single collection.
The money will benefit two very different causes. The Roger Federer Foundation supports early education, particularly in Southern Africa and Switzerland. On the other hand, Re:wild, co-founded by DiCaprio, focuses on protecting ecosystems and biodiversity. The auction also gives the Academy Award-winning actor’s Rolex relationship a direct connection to his conservation work, following his appointment as a Rolex Testimonee in 2025. For Rolex, meanwhile, the Four Seasons are an opportunity to make its gem-setting expertise unusually visible while giving four exceptionally rare watches a purpose beyond collecting.
The money will benefit two very different causes. The Roger Federer Foundation supports early education, particularly in Southern Africa and Switzerland, while Re:wild, co-founded by DiCaprio, focuses on protecting ecosystems and biodiversity. The auction directly connects the actor’s conservation work with his role as a Rolex Testimonee, which began in 2025. The contrast is particularly striking because DiCaprio invested in Diamond Foundry after starring in Blood Diamond, the 2006 film that explored the brutal trade in conflict diamonds. He later backed circular watchmaker ID Genève, yet Re:wild will now benefit from four precious-metal Rolexes set with 227 diamonds and 177 coloured gemstones. For Rolex, the Four Seasons make its gem-setting expertise unusually visible while giving four exceptionally rare watches a purpose beyond collecting.