Rolex - The New York Watch Auction: XI New York Saturday, December 7, 2024 | Phillips
  • Manufacturer: Rolex
    Year: Circa 1974
    Reference No: 6263
    Movement No: 5’043
    Case No: 4’089’965
    Model Name: Cosmograph Daytona
    Material: 14K yellow gold
    Calibre: Manual, cal. 727, 17 jewels
    Bracelet/Strap: 14K yellow gold Rolex Oyster riveted bracelet, endlinks stamped 57
    Clasp/Buckle: 14K yellow gold Rolex deployant clasp, stamped E
    Dimensions: 37.5mm Diameter
    Signed: Case, dial, movement, and bracelet signed.

  • Catalogue Essay

    The references 6263 and 6265 mark the last manually-wound Cosmograph Daytona models from Rolex, with their screw-down pushers and Valjoux 727-based movements. The reference 6263 differs from its sister reference by virtue of its black acrylic bezel, as both were offered with champagne or black dial options. Both references were in production until 1988, when they were replaced by the first automatic Cosmograph Daytona, the reference 16520. Though an estimated 24,000 examples of the 6263 and 6265 were cased in stainless steel, only 2,400 examples are thought to have been produced in both 14K and 18K yellow gold – underlining the rarity of the present watch.

    As the scholarship around vintage Daytonas has grown in the past few decades, the gulf between good watches and the best collectors’ watches has grown wider and wider. This example of a 14K yellow gold reference 6263 is a notable example, with a corresponding riveted 14K yellow gold riveted and tapered Oyster bracelet. The lugs remain exceptionally well proportioned, with a rich, rosy patina enveloping the entirety of the watch. The vibrant champagne dial with black subdials remains in flawless condition, complementing this ensemble perfectly.

    Bearing the correct double Swiss hallmarks for 14K gold, two squirrels, one on the caseback and one on the reverse of the lug, as well as ‘14K’ out on the opposite lug, the squirrel sits upon a “C” indicating the case was tested for fineness and marked in the assay office of Chaux-de-Fonds, where the headquarters of the casemaker, Spillman S.A. was located. So crisp are these hallmarks that the “C” is completely visible with the naked eye. Well preserved in crisp and most certainly unpolished condition, the present example will delight even the most discerning connoisseur.

  • 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.

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Ref. 6263
An extremely attractive, stunningly crisp, and very rare 14K yellow gold chronograph wristwatch with bracelet

Circa 1974
37.5mm Diameter
Case, dial, movement, and bracelet signed.

Estimate
$100,000 - 200,000 
CHF87,900-176,000
€93,700-187,000
HK$777,000-1,550,000

Sold for $190,500

Contact Specialist

Paul Boutros
Deputy Chairman, Watches, Head of Watches, Americas
+1 (212) 940-1293
watchesny@phillips.com

Isabella Proia
Head of Sale, New York
+1 (212) 940 1285
iproia@phillips.com

The New York Watch Auction: XI

New York Auction 7 - 8 December 2024