The Rolex Reference 4113 Split-Second Chronograph At Christies Geneva: Could This Be The First $1 Million Rolex?

We've featured a lot of valuable pieces from Rolex over our tenure as your professors of horological studies, but honestly, nothing compares to this. Reference 4113 is the rarest, most valuable reference of Rolex on earth, and it represents the grail among grails for chasers of the crown. Just last month, Antiquorum sold an enamel dial Rolex for $717,000, this Rolex has the potential to far exceed that and in fact become the first Rolex to ever break $1 million.

So what is the Reference 4113 Rolex anyways? Well, it's a hyper rare watch built for those affiliated with motorsports in the 1940s. It incredibly complicated (for a Rolex, that is) in that it features a split-seconds chronograph. It is also very, very large for the time period, at 44mm, and very uncommon for a Rolex in that it has a very thin bezel.

Only twelve 4113's are known to have been made, and in consecutive serial numbers - eight of them have surfaced so far. The watches have a distinct connection with Sicily, home of the famous "Giro Automobilistico di Sicilia," and it is very likely that these watches were built for winning drivers and the owners of winning teams. But, since the watch was never advertised and never listed in a catalog, we'll never know.

All reference 4113s are cased in steel at 44mm, and all were finished in 1942. Most are in the possession of the family of the original owners. These oversized-split seconds chronos from Rolex represent the absolute pinnacle of Rolex collecting, and one is coming up for sale in just a few weeks in Geneva.

The Rolex reference 4113 has a pre-sale estimate of 600,000 CHF - 1,000,000 CHF, meaning this very well could be the first $1 million Rolex. For details of this exceedingly rare Rolex to be sold via Christies on May 16, click here.