Rare Tiffany-Branded Rolexes to Be Sold at Sotheby's Bunny Mellon Auction

This evening Sotheby's will host the Property from the Collection of Mrs. Paul Mellon: Jewels & Objects of Vertu sale in New York City. Along with enamel snuff boxes, Dior handbags, and, of course, a gem-set rhinoceros (my holiday must-have, in case anyone was wondering), there are 17 Rolex watches with additional "Tiffany & Co." signatures on the dials in the collection. These are much sought-after by collectors and to see so many for sale in one place is unusual -- and it's not even at a watch auction.

It's hard to believe it today, but Rolex used to allow certain partners to co-brand dials, with Tiffany the most prolific and well-known. Rare Cartier dials exist, too, and can fetch astronomical prices when they surface (and aren't fake, as most are). Tiffany wouldn't stop the practice when Rolex asked them to in the early 1990s and as a consequence Rolex stopped selling through Tiffany & Co. altogether. So-called "Tiffany dial" Rolexes became collectable instantly.