Last weekend we saw an example of the complete and total idiocy within watch collecting when the so-called “Bao Dai” Rolex 6062 sold for nearly $5.2 million dollars, setting a record for a Rolex watch at auction in the process. The reason for this outrageous number was because of it’s supposed rarity and provenance. Bao Dai who was the last Emperor of Vietnam, bought this watch during the Geneva Accords in 1954 not long before he abandoned his country because he realized that actually running it would interfere with his womanizing, golf, bridge, etc. As such, he took his Rolex to the south of France to frolic among other like-minded nobodies until his death in 1997.

Good for him, but for that “provenance”, someone actually paid $5 million. Of course, this did not come without criticism. Many have spoken out against the lack of common sense shown in these prices/values, citing the Bao Dai as the clearest of examples.

I spent much of last week and the weekend taking deep breathes. The reason for this was the latest Phillips Geneva Watch Auction where the extremely famous “Bao Dai” Rolex 6062 was going to be auctioned off. Among “Rolex Collectors”, this was apparently the best of the best. Some very prominent Rolex collectors have even been quoted as saying if there was just one Rolex they could own, this would be the one. So, the obvious question is what’s the big deal about *this* Rolex?

The reference as mentioned is a 6062. It's the last moon phase Rolex ever made until this year when they introduced a new moon phase movement as part of their Cellini collection. But, this particular 6062 is one-of-a-kind. It's the only one in 18k yellow gold that has a black dial and diamond indices. Thus, making it as rare is it gets, which is one of the 3 main rules of collecting vintage watches. Apparently, there are no records of a second watch just like this one. There are other 6062’s, some in stainless steel, other gold ones too, but only one with a black dial *and* diamond indices.