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Lot Essay
With Rolex originally fitted presentation box and detached Rolex Oyster bracelet with clasp dated 2.65.
The present watch is an exceptional representative of a reference 6036 in stainless steel, impressing by its beautifully aged, original silvered dial, which over time has taken a uniform and most appealing eggshell-coloured patina. From the first series of the celebrated model, its dial is characterized by the pyramid-shaped and Arabic 12 numerals, recessed within the dial plate. Another particularity of the present "Dato-Compax" is its bracelet, dating from 1959, featuring the large, protruding Rolex signet.
To the best of our knowledge, the watch was purchased by an US engineer working from May 1958 to November 1959 for General Electric on San Salvador Island in the Bahamas. He was assigned to San Salvador Auxiliary Air Force Base for the installation and operation of the radio command guidance system for the Atals missile and needed a stop watch as he regularly participated in countdowns for the launches. During a short vacation in Haiti in late 1958, the former owner found the present watch in a shop in the country's capital Port au Prince. The local language of Haiti being French explains the French date and month indications and designations "Chronographe" and "Anti-Magnetique".
Reference 6036
Reference 6036, the third generation of the celebrated "Dato Compax" Oyster triple calendar chronograph model ever presented by Geneva's "crowned" watch manufacturer, was available with various dial layouts, cased mainly in yellow gold and in stainless steel. Various examples of reference 6036 are described and illustrated in I Cronografi Rolex - La Leggenda, Pucci Papaleo Editore, pp. 380 - 401, a similar watch to the present lot on pp. 380 & 381.
The present watch is an exceptional representative of a reference 6036 in stainless steel, impressing by its beautifully aged, original silvered dial, which over time has taken a uniform and most appealing eggshell-coloured patina. From the first series of the celebrated model, its dial is characterized by the pyramid-shaped and Arabic 12 numerals, recessed within the dial plate. Another particularity of the present "Dato-Compax" is its bracelet, dating from 1959, featuring the large, protruding Rolex signet.
To the best of our knowledge, the watch was purchased by an US engineer working from May 1958 to November 1959 for General Electric on San Salvador Island in the Bahamas. He was assigned to San Salvador Auxiliary Air Force Base for the installation and operation of the radio command guidance system for the Atals missile and needed a stop watch as he regularly participated in countdowns for the launches. During a short vacation in Haiti in late 1958, the former owner found the present watch in a shop in the country's capital Port au Prince. The local language of Haiti being French explains the French date and month indications and designations "Chronographe" and "Anti-Magnetique".
Reference 6036
Reference 6036, the third generation of the celebrated "Dato Compax" Oyster triple calendar chronograph model ever presented by Geneva's "crowned" watch manufacturer, was available with various dial layouts, cased mainly in yellow gold and in stainless steel. Various examples of reference 6036 are described and illustrated in I Cronografi Rolex - La Leggenda, Pucci Papaleo Editore, pp. 380 - 401, a similar watch to the present lot on pp. 380 & 381.