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Lot Essay
Reference 6238
Amongst collectors, reference 6238 is known as the "Pre-Daytona", enjoying an ever growing popularity within the community of Rolex aficionados. In production from the early 1960s to 1967, it was the historic manufacturer's last traditional chronograph wristwatch with a polished bezel paired with a tachymetre scale on the dial. It is regarded as the precursor of the reference 6239, the very first Cosmograph Daytona. The latter used certain style elements of ref. 6238, notably the case, indexes, crown and chronograph pushers.
The "Pre-Daytona" was predominantly available with a silvered dial, the firm’s first chronograph featuring the sunburst finished version, officially referred to as 'Cadran Soleil Argent', which gave the ideal background for the newly designed hands - for the first time in straight baton form. The new dial finish and the baton-shaped hands can be found on all Rolex Daytona chronographs up to the mid-1980s, rendering these sports watches highly functional while lending them a particularly distinctive, masculine look.
Amongst collectors, reference 6238 is known as the "Pre-Daytona", enjoying an ever growing popularity within the community of Rolex aficionados. In production from the early 1960s to 1967, it was the historic manufacturer's last traditional chronograph wristwatch with a polished bezel paired with a tachymetre scale on the dial. It is regarded as the precursor of the reference 6239, the very first Cosmograph Daytona. The latter used certain style elements of ref. 6238, notably the case, indexes, crown and chronograph pushers.
The "Pre-Daytona" was predominantly available with a silvered dial, the firm’s first chronograph featuring the sunburst finished version, officially referred to as 'Cadran Soleil Argent', which gave the ideal background for the newly designed hands - for the first time in straight baton form. The new dial finish and the baton-shaped hands can be found on all Rolex Daytona chronographs up to the mid-1980s, rendering these sports watches highly functional while lending them a particularly distinctive, masculine look.