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Lot Essay
Amongst collectors, reference 6238 is often referred to as the "Pre-Daytona" and enjoys today growing popularity within the community of Rolex aficionados. In 1960, Rolex launched model 6238, their last traditional chronograph wristwatch with polished bezel.
The "Pre-Daytona" with the silvered dial is the first Rolex chronograph to be fitted with the sunburst finished dial, officially referred to as "cadran soleil argenté", which gave the ideal background for the newly designed hands - for the first time in straight baton form. The new dial finish and baton-shaped hands can be found on all Rolex Daytona chronographs up to the mid 1980s, rendering these sports watches highly functional and lending them a particularly distinctive, masculine look.
For a "Pre-Daytona" reference 6238 with black dial see lot 412 in this auction.
The model is described and illustrated in I Cronografi Rolex - La Leggenda, Pucci Papaleo Editore, p. 288.
The "Pre-Daytona" with the silvered dial is the first Rolex chronograph to be fitted with the sunburst finished dial, officially referred to as "cadran soleil argenté", which gave the ideal background for the newly designed hands - for the first time in straight baton form. The new dial finish and baton-shaped hands can be found on all Rolex Daytona chronographs up to the mid 1980s, rendering these sports watches highly functional and lending them a particularly distinctive, masculine look.
For a "Pre-Daytona" reference 6238 with black dial see lot 412 in this auction.
The model is described and illustrated in I Cronografi Rolex - La Leggenda, Pucci Papaleo Editore, p. 288.