Jack Nicklaus Sold His First-Ever Rolex Watch, Which Witnessed Him Win Plenty of Titles Since 1967, for $1.2 Million in a 2019 Auction

By winning 100+ championship titles, the American Tour veteran golfer Jack Nicklaus has made millions of fans worldwide. Since he made his name popular by playing incredibly well, anything he used to wear on the course has become invaluable. And it is not a secret that his fans would pay millions to get a hold of that. 

An 18-karat gold Rolex Day Date watch – $1.2 million price for a watch like this might sound exaggerated. However, since it used to be in the collection of Nicklaus, it becomes more sense why anyone would buy it for such a huge price. 

Only minutes were needed for the watch to get a $1 million closing bid

Three minutes. That’s what it took the auctioneer to put his hammer down when Nicklaus’ more 50-year-old Rolex Day Date watch’s bid began at the ‘Game Changers’ Auction in New York, held by Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo in 2019. 

Circa 1967, the watch is a 36mm 18-karat yellow gold case with an 18-karat gold bracelet. Powered by the Automatic caliber 1555 with 26 jewels, the watch is accompanied by a Rolex green leather presentation box. Notably, Forbes explained that according to Aurel Bacs of Phillips, the Day Date model could be “the most seen Rolex Day Date in the past half a century.”

The officials expected to get between $100,000 and $200,000 opening bids. However, according to the Forbes.com article, the opening bidder started at $500,000. The bid started at 5:58 pm and ended at 6:01 pm, with a final $1 million price for the watch ($1.220 million with fees). 

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Notably, he had told the Forbes writer a year before the auction, “I make sure that charity is involved in everything we do.” True to his words, all the money raised from the auction went to the Nicklaus Children’s Health Care Foundation – a charity foundation Nicklaus and his wife, Barbara, founded. 

Jack Nicklaus wearing it to every winning ceremony made the watch invaluable

The 18-time major champion received the Rolex Day Date in 1967 after attending a party by the brand with his colleagues and friends, Arnold Palmer and Gary Player. Interestingly, it was his first-ever Rolex, and he became an ambassador of the brand ever since. 

Notably, he has never worn the watch while playing in a tournament. However, Jack Nicklaus made sure he didn’t accept a single victory without the watch shining on his wrist. 

Jack Nicklaus is famous for winning the most number of majors in the history of golf (18). And he won 10+ of them since 1967, helping increase the value of his Rolex Day Date watch.

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