Paul Newman.

Those two words conjure up a number of associations: actor, successful Le Mans endurance racer, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and loving family man among others.

But for watch lovers, the name “Paul Newman” is associated first and foremost with Swiss fake Rolex, and in particular with a subset of that brand’s UK Rolex Daytona replica watches with specific dial characteristics, including a recessed outer seconds track and subdials that feature block-shaped hash marks and Art Deco-style Arabic numerals.

Over the past few years I’ve bought vintage watches (see A Contemporary Watch Collector Goes Vintage), purchased my first luxury copy Rolex (see Great Rolex Experiment With the GMT Master II Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Crown), and mused in print here at Quill & Pad about the value of rarity (see The Value Of Rarity: Christie’s Auctions A Black-Dialed A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1 In Stainless Steel) and the drivers of auction valuations for vintage fake watches for sale.

But I have to confess that none of that has fully prepared me to understand the cult of the Paul Newman Rolex Daytona replica online, which has now been whipped into an outright frenzy by the announcement that Phillips will auction one of Mr. Newman’s very own “Paul Newman” watches at its upcoming October auction in New York (see Paul Newman’s Own Paul Newman top replica Rolex Daytona To Go Up For Auction).

So what to make of the whole Newman mania and how likely am I as a collector to join the crowd of rabid enthusiasts seeking to buy one of these best quality replica watches?

Why I’m a “no”
If you’ve ever watched episodes of “Seinfeld,” you will have picked up pretty quickly that Jerry had a particular dislike for one of his neighbors, a postal worker known only as “Newman.”
In subsequent interviews, Seinfeld has explained that there was no specific reason why his character hated Newman, but I know my reasons for being reluctant to embrace the AAA Paul Newman fake Rolex Daytona.

Always too much: I’ll cofnfess that I have flirted with the idea of going after a “Paul Newman” Rolex Daytona super clone UK more than once in the past, but each time I do, the asking price has escalated into a range that I find unacceptable.
The analogous example that comes to mind here from the vintage car world is the Fiat Jolly, a “resort car” with wicker seats and a fringed top that was originally manufactured circa 1960 for Italian seaside resorts.

When a nice used Jolly was $20,000 I thought it might be fun at $10,000. When I finally sucked it up and was prepared to spend $20,000, the number had become $40,000. Now the number is closer to $100,000, and I don’t think I’ll ever go there!

Similarly, as the Paul Newman has taken on cult status within and beyond the watch world, the prices have gone exponential.

A watch for people who don’t know perfect fake watches: One reason for the explosion in value is that the Paul Newman Rolex Daytona replica Paypal has become a popular purchase well beyond the world of serious vintage collectors or even of watch enthusiasts in general.

While I don’t begrudge the various celebrities and self-characterized “ballers” who have discovered the Newman Swiss made fake Rolex but aren’t in any way students of horology, I don’t have to like what the mainstreaming of the Paul Newman’s appeal among the affluent has done to its valuation and public perception.

A few years ago, I bid at auction on the leather “Eisenhower” jacket that Ike himself wore during the planning for the D-Day invasion, four-star shoulder patches and all, without having done any research on it or analogous items. Had I prevailed, my guess is that serious devotees of presidential history and military memorabilia would (and should) have viewed me in the same vein as I see some of the current generation of Paul Newman buyers.

Stylish reject: When the 1:1 replica Rolex Daytonas with so-called “exotic” dials (with depressed outer rims in different colors from the main dial) were introduced, they were quite unpopular, and few were made. Once one of these watches became associated with Newman, however, demand – and value – began to grow.