The history buff who owns Dwight Eisenhower’s 18-karat gold Rolex snubbed a winning $475,000 auction bid for the historic timepiece on Wednesday.
Collector Raleigh DeGeer Amyx set a secret reserve for the auction in Boston, and $475,000 apparently fell well short.
Amyx and auctioneers declined to reveal the exact minimum price, but he said it was “close to a million dollars.”
“Sometimes people don’t understand the importance of history, especially something on a quintessential level like this,” Amyx told The Post after rejecting the significant, six-figure pay day.
A rep for RR Auction said auctioneers – who lost a $118,750 premium, had the Rolex Oyster Perpetual Date sold for $475,000 – were disappointed, but respected Amyx’s decision.
Amyx could have accepted that lower-than-reserve price, but declined.
“He wanted (closer to) $1 million,” RR auction spokesman Bobby Livingston said. “That’s what it’s worth to him so he said `no,’ ”
Rolex gave Eisenhower the lavish gift in 1950, in appreciation for leading Allied forces to victory in Europe during World War II.
The time piece is engraved “DDE,” for Dwight David Eisenhower, and was given on Dec. 19, 1950, when NATO appointed the future president Supreme Allied Commander of Europe.
Ike’s Rolex was the 150,000th made by Swiss manufacturers. The 100,000th Rolex went to Winston Churchill.
Amyx, 76, said he’s confident he’ll hawk the watch for close to $1 million in a private sale or at another auction.