Vintage Rolex Daytona timepieces are among one of the most celebrated wristwatches widely collected by enthusiasts and connoisseurs globally. With an incredibly high secrecy in the way that Rolex operates, the archives of the firm are not available to the public, hence stimulating a community of scholars to determine the correctness of a watch. One of the references and debate was if the Rolex Daytona ref. 6240 was ever born with a Paul Newman dial. The market strongly believes so and it was proven in an example previously sold at our Geneva Watch Auction: SEVEN (Lot 254).
The coveted ref. 6240 was initially introduced in 1965 being the first Daytona reference to feature screw-down pushers. Whilst production was short for the reference for only a mere three years, the ref. 6240 was considered as somewhat of an experimental reference for its newly developed screw-down pushers. With the reference already rare itself, only an estimated 1,700 examples were produced between 1965 - 1969, examples fitted with a Paul Newman dial can only be considered as extremely rare and highly sought after. Believed by scholars, the ref. 6240 “Paul Newman” have a common trait of bearing a 1.658 million case number, such as the present example. In coincidence, the present example bears a number that is only 20 numbers away from the example previously sold in our Geneva auction, also fitted with a tri-colored Paul Newman dial in black.
The present specimen presented in attractive overall condition and is further enhanced by its nice and clean Paul Newman dial. With its originality secured by its correct case number, the case also features its original and desired Mark “0” screw-down pushers. Furthermore, the dial displays a prominent step noticeable via the edge of the registers and the outer minute track, which is a delight for collectors to witness for this particular model. When one focuses on the “T SWISS T” designation on the 6 O’clock position, the present example features the correct style of typography referred to collectors as “a casetta”, meaning a “little house”. Fitted with an attractive black acrylic bezel insert with a 200 graduation, the present examples bears all the same elements as the previous examples sold in The Geneva Watch Auction: SEVEN and PHILLIPS x Blackbird: SPORTS auction in Hong Kong. The present example is a fantastic opportunity for discerned collectors and lovers of sports chronograph timepieces to acquire an extremely rare example of the highly coveted Rolex ref. 6240 “Paul Newman”.
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.
