Rolex wristwatch sells for staggering $1.2M at auction

Time to get out the checkbook!

A rare Rolex watch sold for a whopping $1.2 million at auction this week, making it the most expensive Rolex wristwatch to ever be sold under the gavel, NBC News reports.

The sale of the watch, a 1949 Oyster Perpetual model with a cloisonne enamel dial, had been expected to go for as low as $570,000

The watch, sold by Christie's auction house in Geneva, was designed by artist Marguerite Koch and features a ship sailing on rough seas on the dial. At a cost of $1.2 million, the anonymous buyer might want to consider investing in a Swatch guard (remember those?).

The blog Classic Diver reported that the record-setting Rolex had been "hidden away" for several years.

All told the Christie's watch sale resulted in $26.5 million in sales, including a snazzy Patek Phillippe from the early 1900s that sold for over $1.34 million, NBC News reports.

For those who like the idea of wearing a watch that's worth an obscene amount of money but can't exactly scrape together the dough, a new market for renting luxury watches lets fans enjoy the timepieces for a (not insignificant) monthly fee.

Follow Mike Krumboltz on Twitter (@mikekrumboltz)

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