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Lot Essay
Rolex Cosmograph Daytonas with Paul Newman dials are, as every watch lover knows, among the most desired of all vintage wristwatches. Of course, within the Paul Newman Daytona ‘family’, there are variations in manufacturing details that have resulted in fascinating rarities, of which no more than a handful exist. It is these watches - of which the present example is one - that the world’s most exacting collectors seek to possess.
This stunning reference 6263 Daytona is particularly special, being what collectors call an ‘RCO’, or in Italian, ‘Sotto’, whereby the word ‘Oyster’ appears after the words ‘Rolex Cosmograph’ on the dial. Perhaps fewer than thirty examples of this phenomenon are known worldwide. Indeed, it was an example of the ‘RCO’ Daytona that had the distinction of being the first Rolex Daytona ever to achieve over one million U.S. dollars at auction.
An Explanation of the Rolex ‘RCO’ or ‘Sotto’ Dials
The dials that have become legendary as the ‘Oyster Sotto’ or ‘RCO’ were originally intended for the non-waterproof references such as 6262 and 6264, which are signed ‘Rolex Cosmograph Daytona’ only. When the new water-resistant ‘Oyster’ case was introduced for reference 6263 around 1969, it is clear that certain customers must have specifically requested that their watch feature an exotic dial of the type now known by collectors as the ‘Paul Newman’.
Of course, no such dials yet existed specifically for the water-resistant Oyster model, and therefore a small number of already printed non-Oyster dials were adapted with the addition of the word ‘Oyster’ in plain font. As the dials were already pre-printed, there was no option but to place the word ‘Oyster’ below the words ‘Rolex Cosmograph’. Thus, an anomaly was created - one that exists in so few examples that it has become a pinnacle of desirability among Rolex Daytonas. The Paul Newman-style dial itself was discontinued relatively soon after the introduction of reference 6263.
Among the known ‘RCO’ dials, two distinct styles of font were used for the lettering. For ease of identification, these are designated as ‘Mark I’ and ‘Mark II’. The Mark I ‘RCO’ dial, as seen on the present watch, is distinguishable by the very different font type for the ‘R’ of Rolex, which is wider and ‘fatter’; the ‘G’ in Cosmograph, which has a serif and shorter inward return; and the ‘H’, which is more asymmetrical. The Mark II ‘RCO’ dial is characterised by the very close legs of the ‘R’ in Rolex with pronounced serifs, the ‘G’ of Cosmograph without a serif and with a long return almost touching the inner curve, and a wider, more evenly proportioned ‘H’.
This stunning reference 6263 Daytona is particularly special, being what collectors call an ‘RCO’, or in Italian, ‘Sotto’, whereby the word ‘Oyster’ appears after the words ‘Rolex Cosmograph’ on the dial. Perhaps fewer than thirty examples of this phenomenon are known worldwide. Indeed, it was an example of the ‘RCO’ Daytona that had the distinction of being the first Rolex Daytona ever to achieve over one million U.S. dollars at auction.
An Explanation of the Rolex ‘RCO’ or ‘Sotto’ Dials
The dials that have become legendary as the ‘Oyster Sotto’ or ‘RCO’ were originally intended for the non-waterproof references such as 6262 and 6264, which are signed ‘Rolex Cosmograph Daytona’ only. When the new water-resistant ‘Oyster’ case was introduced for reference 6263 around 1969, it is clear that certain customers must have specifically requested that their watch feature an exotic dial of the type now known by collectors as the ‘Paul Newman’.
Of course, no such dials yet existed specifically for the water-resistant Oyster model, and therefore a small number of already printed non-Oyster dials were adapted with the addition of the word ‘Oyster’ in plain font. As the dials were already pre-printed, there was no option but to place the word ‘Oyster’ below the words ‘Rolex Cosmograph’. Thus, an anomaly was created - one that exists in so few examples that it has become a pinnacle of desirability among Rolex Daytonas. The Paul Newman-style dial itself was discontinued relatively soon after the introduction of reference 6263.
Among the known ‘RCO’ dials, two distinct styles of font were used for the lettering. For ease of identification, these are designated as ‘Mark I’ and ‘Mark II’. The Mark I ‘RCO’ dial, as seen on the present watch, is distinguishable by the very different font type for the ‘R’ of Rolex, which is wider and ‘fatter’; the ‘G’ in Cosmograph, which has a serif and shorter inward return; and the ‘H’, which is more asymmetrical. The Mark II ‘RCO’ dial is characterised by the very close legs of the ‘R’ in Rolex with pronounced serifs, the ‘G’ of Cosmograph without a serif and with a long return almost touching the inner curve, and a wider, more evenly proportioned ‘H’.