$72,000
Ref. 6238, “Paul Newman” Rolex, "Oyster Cosmograph Daytona", Ref. 6238. Made circa 1965. Very fine and rare, water-resistant, stainless steel wristwatch with round-button chronograph, steel bezel, registers, tachometer and a stainless steel Rolex Oyster bracelet. Three-body, polished and brushed, screwed-down case back and crown, Twinlock winding crown, tachometer graduation on the bezel to 200 units per hour. Bicolor matte silver and black with square steel indexes and luminous dots, subsidiary black guilloché dials for the seconds, the 12-hour and 30-minute registers. Luminous steel baton hands. Cal. 727, rhodium-plated, 17 jewels, straight line lever escapement, monometallic balance adjusted to 3 positions, shock absorber, self-compensating Breguet balance spring, Microstella regulating screws. Dial, case and movement signed. Diam. 37 mm. Thickness 13 mm. Notes The reference 6238 was the first version of the Rolex Cosmograph. The first example of the ref. 6238 with the ‘exotic dial’ (so-called ‘Paul Newman’ dial) came on the market in the late 60s. Interestingly, these original Daytona watches were not in demand when produced and accordingly were available for appallingly little money, but have gained rapid esteem in the collector milieu. The ref. 6238 with the ‘Paul Newman’ dial is an extremely rare version of the watch. The last ref. 6238 to appear in an Antiquorum auction was in November 13, 1999.
Auctioneer:
Antiquorum
Date:
2008-04-17
