Canadian Woman Sells Rare Rolex Found in $25 Thrift Sofa for $191,000

A vintage Rolex Paul Newman Daytona slipped between sofa cushions in Canada has fetched $191,000 at auction, four years after its owner purchased the second-hand couch for just $25.

She had dropped her smartphone. Reaching deep between the upholstered cushions to retrieve it, her hand struck cold metal instead. Out came a vintage Reference 6241 Rolex chronograph, fully intact and sporting an exotic Art Deco-style dial. It was a collector's Holy Grail, lost in plain sight.

The timepiece survived four years of daily domestic use without sustaining internal or cosmetic damage. Specialist firm Bob's Watches cleared the piece for its Fresh Finds auction series, where international bidders pushed the closing hammer to $191,000 — roughly 7,600 times the price of the couch that concealed it.

The Paul Newman Lineage

Dial geometry dictates fortunes in the vintage chronograph market. Rolex produced the Reference 6241 with an off-white and black dial characterized by squared markers and Art Deco typography, a design initially rejected by retail buyers in the 1960s. Collector interest inverted that reception entirely. In 2017, the specific Reference 6239 worn by actor Paul Newman shattered global records at $17.8 million, turning any authentic piece bearing that specific dial configuration into an instant six-figure asset.

Bob's Watches confirmed the piece remained in exceptional running condition despite spending years trapped in furniture foam. While modern factory Daytonas carry multi-year waiting lists at licensed boutiques, vintage iterations with verified Art Deco dials trade on an entirely separate valuation tier, routinely commanding double or triple the prices of contemporary references.

Net proceeds from the June auction transfer directly to the consignor, closing the book on one of the most improbable salvage discoveries in modern horological trade.