158 Rolex A very rare and special Rolex Pre-Daytona reference 6238 in stainless steel made for the Fuerza Aérea del Perú

Estimate: € 50,000 –⁠ 100,000

Sold € 59,800

Model: Pre-Daytona
Material: Stainless Steel
Reference N°: 6238
Year: 1964
Case N°: 1102433
Caliber: 72B
Movement N°: 3086
Bracelet: Stainless Steel
Dimensions: 36
Signed: Dial, Case and movement

Reference 6238 represents both the end of an era for Rolex, and the beginning of another one, which in the following years would become one of their most successful wristwatches ever. Produced from the early 1960 until 1967, the reference 6238 became known as the “pre-Daytona” because following this model, Rolex removed the tachymeter scale from the dial and added it to the bezel, making the dial and the entire watch appear larger and also giving the watch a less cluttered modern aesthetic. Technically, the model already bears some of the traits which will be present in the subsequent evolutions, such as the calibre that can be 72B or 722, the same found in early Daytona chronographs. Rolex sports watches have always been the main choice of diver’s organizations and several armed forces: COMEX and British Royal Navy are probably the most renowned and highly sought after by collectors nowadays. But among these organizations, one of the most undervalued is probably the Peruvian Air Force which is thought that in the early 1960s have commissioned Rolex with the supply of watches for their Officers, mainly different Cosmograph Daytona models but also some rare references 6238. The model offered here is one of these examples bearing a very crisp engraving on the back showing the writing “Fuerza Aérea del Perú” and for this reason also known as FAP. The three-part case in stainless steel has a silvered dial in still well-preserved conditions with applied baton numerals and bevelled engine-turned subdials for small seconds, minute and hour counters. Really sought-after and very difficult to find, a Pre-Dayrtona with FAP case back is for sure one of those watches that cannot leave indifferent a true Rolex passionate.