Paul Newman's Long-Lost Rolex Hits Auction Block, Could Fetch $10 Million

The Rolex once worn by actor Paul Newman is up for auction. 

Paul Boutros of Phillips Auction House said that the "Paul Newman Daytona" watch is the most sought after among collectors. 

It was a gift from Newman’s wife, Joanne Woodward, as they filmed Winning, in which he played a race car driver, in 1968. The inscription on the back reads: “Drive Carefully Me."

According to reports, the watch was purchased for just $200.

Newman died in 2008 from lung cancer and many wondered what happened to the watch. 

Newman gave it to his daughter Nell’s then-boyfriend, James Cox.

"He came over to me and asked what time it was, and I said, 'Paul, I don't have a watch,'" Cox recalled to Inside Edition. "He said, 'If you can remember to wind it, it tells really good time.'" 

Cox is now putting the rare Rolex up for auction at Phillips in New York City, where it could fetch $10 million.

The famous Rolex is under such tight security that there are reportedly guards standing by to protect it at all times. 

Part of the sale from the watch will be donated to The Newman’s Own Foundation.