In Depth · Rolex

Rolex will auction four unique Four Seasons Daytonas

Phillips will sell the one-off gem-set watches in London, with all proceeds going to two organisations.

Hen & Mills Editorial · 4 min read · 4 September 2026

Rolex will auction four unique Cosmograph Daytona watches in London on 28 September, with all proceeds going to the Federer Foundation and Re:wild. Phillips is conducting the sale. The Four Seasons project pairs one precious-metal case with a natural-stone dial and a fully gem-set bezel for each season.

Rolex describes each of the four Daytonas as unique and exclusive. The official page also identifies every case metal, dial stone, counter material, bezel setting and hour-marker stone. No estimates are published on that page.

Four seasons rendered in stone

Spring uses an 18-carat white-gold case, a chrysoprase dial and lepidolite counters. Its bezel carries 36 trapeze-cut purple sapphires weighing about 5.57 carats. Eight baguette-cut and three square-cut purple sapphires serve as the hour markers, all held in white-gold settings.

Summer moves to Everose gold, with turquoise across the main dial and heart of ruby in the counters. The bezel's 36 pink sapphires total about 4.32 carats, while matching pink sapphires mark the hours. The red counters and pink bezel make this the most saturated of the four, despite the cooler turquoise field.

Autumn is yellow gold with a mookaite dial and chrysoprase counters. Green tourmalines fill the bezel and hour positions. The 36 trapeze-cut bezel stones total about 4.32 carats. Its ochre, green and yellow palette is the only configuration in the set built around earthy colours rather than a sharp cool-and-warm contrast.

Winter uses 950 platinum, a blue-opal dial and lapis-lazuli counters. The bezel moves through a blue-to-fuchsia sapphire gradient weighing about 5.57 carats. Diamonds replace coloured stones at the hour positions, making it the only member of the set with colourless markers.

Every case has 54 brilliant-cut diamonds set into the lugs and crown guards, amounting to about 0.86 carats per watch. Each bezel uses 36 trapeze-cut stones, and each dial has eleven gem hour markers. Those common details make the four watches read as one deliberate group even though their metals and dial materials differ.

Across the four bezels, the published weights add to about 19.78 carats. Spring and Winter each account for roughly 5.57 carats, while Summer and Autumn each account for about 4.32 carats. The equal weights do not make the pairs look alike: purple sapphire surrounds green and violet stone in Spring, while Winter moves from blue to fuchsia around blue opal and lapis lazuli.

The hour-marker layout provides another shared structure. Each dial uses eight baguette-cut stones and three square-cut stones, for 44 markers across the four watches. Spring and Summer coordinate those markers with their purple and pink bezels. Autumn uses green tourmalines in both positions, while Winter breaks the pattern by putting diamonds on the dial inside its sapphire bezel.

The auction is the release

The watches are being sold for charity. Roger Federer's foundation supports education and development programmes for children in Southern Africa and Switzerland. Re:wild works with Indigenous Peoples, local communities and conservation partners to protect and restore ecosystems.

Federer and Leonardo DiCaprio are both Rolex Testimonees and are closely associated with the two beneficiaries. Their involvement supplies the public-facing connection between the watchmaker and the charities, while Phillips provides the auction platform. The sale takes place in London on 28 September.

An auction changes the normal price question around a new Daytona. Rolex gives no estimate or list price on the Four Seasons page. It does state that all proceeds from the auction will support the two organisations, making the beneficiaries a defined part of the event.

Why the word unique carries weight

The Four Seasons page states the status directly: four unique and exclusive Cosmograph Daytona watches, each embodying a season. Every design exists as one watch, and all four are presented for the named London sale.

The natural-stone dials add visual variation through chrysoprase, turquoise, mookaite and blue opal. Rolex has selected contrasting stones for the counters, then matched or opposed those colours with sapphire, tourmaline or diamond settings. The result is closer to four jewellery compositions than four colour variants.

Rolex describes these as unique auction watches, and the event has a fixed date and named beneficiaries. Ahead of the sale, the watchmaker has published specifications and imagery for each of the four seasonal designs.

The published material identifies the metals, stones, approximate carat weights and one-of-one status before the watches reach the block. Across the four watches, the lugs and crown guards hold 216 brilliant-cut diamonds, while the bezels contain 144 trapeze-cut coloured stones. The page also names every counter material and describes the marker setting used on each dial.

Rolex has supplied a detailed visual and material record before Phillips conducts the auction. Until 28 September, those official specifications provide the clearest account of what the auction house will offer in London.