.jpg?w=1)
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. Launched in 1960, reference 6238 was the company's last traditional chronograph wristwatch with polished bezel.
The present watch is a rare variant with the charismatic black matte dial. The "Pre-Daytona" with the silvered dial was the first Rolex chronograph to be fitted with the sunburst finished dial, 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 and lending them a particularly distinctive, masculine look.
This watch is not only an outstanding rarity in excellent overall condition but most importantly also an extremely attractive chronograph, one of the best-looking watches for daily wear.
For an example of a reference 6238 in 18K gold see lot 185 in this auction.
A similar reference 6238 with black dial is illustrated in I Cronografi Rolex - La Leggenda, Pucci Papaleo Editore, p. 288. For descriptions and illustrations of the different versions of this reference see op. cit., pp. 278-291.
The present watch is a rare variant with the charismatic black matte dial. The "Pre-Daytona" with the silvered dial was the first Rolex chronograph to be fitted with the sunburst finished dial, 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 and lending them a particularly distinctive, masculine look.
This watch is not only an outstanding rarity in excellent overall condition but most importantly also an extremely attractive chronograph, one of the best-looking watches for daily wear.
For an example of a reference 6238 in 18K gold see lot 185 in this auction.
A similar reference 6238 with black dial is illustrated in I Cronografi Rolex - La Leggenda, Pucci Papaleo Editore, p. 288. For descriptions and illustrations of the different versions of this reference see op. cit., pp. 278-291.