Fresh from the Showcase here at SwissWatchExpo, we've got an absolute treasure for you today.
This is one of the rarest Daytona references Rolex ever produced. And we've got it at SwissWatchExpo.
Fresh from the Showcase. I'm Michael, SwissWatchExpo. And this is a great day
for me because I absolutely love this watch. It's one of the rarest Daytona's that you'll ever see.
We've got it labeled as a Pre Daytona because it doesn't actually have the word Daytona on the
dial. It's a Rolex reference 6240. It was launched in 1965. This is a 65, 66 model.
And it is just breathtaking. When you look at the dial, it has a super even patina on the sub-dials.
And it's so rare that in my own research, I haven't even seen another example out there that
has exactly this dial coloration. The chronograph hand is interesting and notable because it has
an equilateral triangle at the end, which is absolutely correct for this model. And when you
look at this one, you might not even realize what it is, and it might fly a little under the radar,
but to any gathering of watch guys, this would definitely be the star of the show.
The 6240 was the first Daytona reference that had screw-down crown pushers. Now,
at the time they weren't especially popular because people thought that the ridges to
operate the pushers sort of caught on their shirt sleeves. You've heard the stories before that.
One of the reasons the Daytona is so sought after now in vintage collector circles is that it wasn't
terribly popular at the time. I found a vintage ad for this watch that it retailed at the time
for $210 with tax included at the New York fifth avenue boutique. So you could have gone up there
and bought this watch for a couple hundred bucks and really had a great investment on your hands.
Everything is right about this watch as far as I can tell.
The dial is really rare because it again doesn't have the word Daytona.
It says Rolex Oyster Cosmograph. And so this is referred to as the ROC dial because that's the
three initials of the words as you read down, Rolex Oyster Cosmograph,
there are other variations out there that are RCO that say Rolex Cosmograph Oyster,
but it's the first one that said Oyster on the dial of the Daytona series. So for a lot
of people, they'll say that this sort of set the stage for the Daytona watch as we know it. And
for a lot of people, they'll say that this is the most important, arguably the most important
reference that Rolex has ever released in their history because of the future impact that it had
on the subsequent generations. So, it does have the correct original 700 series crown, which only
has the Rolex coronet. No marks underneath it. It's correct for the 1965, 66 models.
It also features the movement that is a modified Valjoux 722, which is also correct for the era
made in 65, 66. So everything's right about this one. The bezel insert is acrylic or bakelite.
It's not the painted aluminum that you see later. The crystal, of course, is the correct acrylic,
which was used on the Daytona for a long time and gives that real vintage look. And it's a little
bit smaller in size than the modern Daytona's. And of course, it's manual wind. So this watch
is amazing even after it sells, which I'm sure it's gonna sell very, very quickly. We just
posted it late yesterday afternoon. I'm sure it'll be gone by today, but it'll stay on our
website and you'll be able to look it up. If you just type in Rolex 6240 on our website, you'll
be able to see all the pictures of how great it was, and what it looked like while we had it.