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Lot Essay
The present watch is a beautiful example of a reference 6234 in 14K gold and without doubt one of the most appealing. Preserved in very good original condition, it delights the connoisseur with its unrestored dial with clearly legible scales and its impressive case with sharp and clean outlines.
The watch stands out among its peers by virtue of its rare underline dial. Easily missed, the underline is just situated between the rim of the 12 hour subsidiary dial and the word Anti-Magnetic. Underline dials were used by Rolex on watch dials for a short period of time to indicate the use of tritium as a luminous compound, which is less harmful than radium. On this watch, tritium was used on the hands and for the accents on the dial.
This much sought-after reference can be considered the grandfather of today's Cosmograph Daytona. It may thus also be described as the "pre-pre Daytona", immediately preceding "pre Daytona" reference 6238. The latter is the company's last traditional chronograph with polished bezel.
Refernce 6234 is distinguished by its polished bezel, three-part case and hand-wound movement. A charismatic watch by any standard, the reference was in production from 1956 to the early 1960s.
Different examples of reference 6234 in regard to case material and dial layout are illustrated in I Cronografi Rolex - La Leggenda, Pucci Papaleo Editore, pp. 254-276, and in 100 Superlative Rolex Watches by John Goldberger, pp. 120-127.
The watch stands out among its peers by virtue of its rare underline dial. Easily missed, the underline is just situated between the rim of the 12 hour subsidiary dial and the word Anti-Magnetic. Underline dials were used by Rolex on watch dials for a short period of time to indicate the use of tritium as a luminous compound, which is less harmful than radium. On this watch, tritium was used on the hands and for the accents on the dial.
This much sought-after reference can be considered the grandfather of today's Cosmograph Daytona. It may thus also be described as the "pre-pre Daytona", immediately preceding "pre Daytona" reference 6238. The latter is the company's last traditional chronograph with polished bezel.
Refernce 6234 is distinguished by its polished bezel, three-part case and hand-wound movement. A charismatic watch by any standard, the reference was in production from 1956 to the early 1960s.
Different examples of reference 6234 in regard to case material and dial layout are illustrated in I Cronografi Rolex - La Leggenda, Pucci Papaleo Editore, pp. 254-276, and in 100 Superlative Rolex Watches by John Goldberger, pp. 120-127.