Rolex - Phillips & Blackbird: SPORTS Hong Kong Sunday, May 26, 2019 | Phillips

Create your first list.

Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.

  • Manufacturer: Rolex
    Year: Circa 1964
    Reference No: 6238
    Case No: 1’000’359
    Model Name: Chronograph, "Pre-Daytona"
    Material: Stainless steel
    Calibre: Manual, cal. 72B, 17 jewels
    Bracelet/Strap: Rolex stainless steel bracelet, endlinks stamped 57, max length 180 mm
    Clasp/Buckle: Rolex stainless steel deployant clasp stamped 3.68
    Dimensions: 36 mm diameter
    Signed: Case, dial, movement and bracelet signed
    Literature: Similar examples of this reference are illustrated in 100 Superlative Rolex Watches, John Goldberger, pg. 128-137

  • Catalogue Essay

    “Bond surveyed his weapons. They were only his hands and his feet, his Gillette razor and his wristwatch, a heavy Rolex Oyster Perpetual on an expanding metal bracelet. Used properly, these could be turned into most effective knuckle busters,” wrote Ian Fleming in his James Bond novel On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. In the 1969 movie adaptation of the same name, Bond, played by none other than the legendary George Lazenby, was seen on the silver screen with a ref. 6238 on his wrist.

    So robust and reliable, the ref. 6238 was Bond’s most reliable tool when he makes his epic escape by skiing down Piz Gloria while the antagonists chase in the film. The watch has an equally epic background story off the silver screen as well. The Rolex ref. 6238 epitomizes a turning point in the history of Rolex history of chronograph. Produced for a short period from the beginning of the 1960s to 1967, it was not only the last Rolex chronograph to feature a smooth bezel with a tachymeter scale on the dial, but also a model that paved the way to the ref. 6239.

    Collectors today refer to ref. 6238 as the “Pre-Daytona”, as it is the immediate predecessor of ref. 6239 — the first Cosmograph Daytona made by Rolex. In overall excellent condition with a sharp bezel, the present ref. 6238 is a very pleasing example. With a very elegant chic, the watch is easily wearable on any occasion and is a great timepiece for the savvy collector.

  • Artist Biography

    Rolex

    Swiss • 1905

    Founded in 1905 England by Hans Wilsdorf and Alfred Davis as Wilsdorf & Davis, it soon became known as the Rolex Watch Company in 1915, moving its headquarters to Geneva in 1919. Like no other company, the success of the wristwatch can be attributed to many of Rolex's innovations that made them one of the most respected and well-known of all luxury brands. These innovations include their famous "Oyster" case — the world's first water resistant and dustproof watch case, invented in 1926 — and their "Perpetual" — the first reliable self-winding movement for wristwatches launched in 1933. They would form the foundation for Rolex's Datejust and Day-Date, respectively introduced in 1945 and 1956, but also importantly for their sports watches, such as the Explorer, Submariner and GMT-Master launched in the mid-1950s.

    One of its most famous models is the Cosmograph Daytona. Launched in 1963, these chronographs are without any doubt amongst the most iconic and coveted of all collectible wristwatches. Other key collectible models include their most complicated vintage watches, including references 8171 and 6062 with triple calendar and moon phase, "Jean Claude Killy" triple date chronograph models and the Submariner, including early "big-crown" models and military-issued variants.

    View More Works

841

Ref. 6238
A rare and attractive stainless steel chronograph wristwatch with silvered dial, tachymeter scale and bracelet

Circa 1964
36 mm diameter
Case, dial, movement and bracelet signed

Estimate
HK$200,000 - 280,000 
€23,000-32,200
$25,000-35,000

Sold for HK$287,500

Contact Specialist

Thomas Perazzi
Head of Watches, Asia
thomasperazzi@phillips.com
+852 2318 2001
 

Phillips & Blackbird: SPORTS

Hong Kong Auction 27 May 2019