169 Rolex Very Attractive and Well Preserved, Pre-Daytona Chronograph, Wristwatch in Steel, With Grey Dial, Reference 6238

Estimate: € 25,000 –⁠ 50,000

Model: Pre Daytona
Reference: 6238
Case Material: Stainless Steel
Bracelet Material: Stainless Steel
Year: 1964
Movement: Automatic
Caliber: 72B
Case N°: 1007897
Dimensions: 37 mm
Signed: Dial, Case and Movement

Considered the last classical chronograph or the first sports chronograph from Rolex, ref. 6238 is indeed a milestone for the famed Geneva brand. Produced for a short period from 1960 to 1967, it was the last Rolex chronograph to feature a smooth bezel with a tachymeter scale on the dial before it made the great and final migration to the bezel where it would stay until the present day. The present watch impresses thanks to its impeccable state of preservation and it’s really beautiful ageing. The three-body stainless steel case is in perfect proportions with sharp edges with still their satin finish and clean case back with screw down. Unlike the Cosmograph Daytona that always features a two-tone dial with either black with silver subdials or vice versa, the reference 6238 was offered only with a monochromatic dial. The full dark shade of grey dial has that charm that only some watches are able to emanate, with a catching conservation that has been able to survive in all these years and represents a rare and more intriguing variant of dial compared to the classical silvered one. The applied baton indexes and the hands with luminous material are a further preciousness that increase the attractiveness of this watch together with the typical sunken subsidiary dials. Ancestors of the Daytona, the present 6238 is also provided with a very nice steel jubilee bracelet.