Pulsations Dial 6238 Rolex Pre-Daytona

We love Pre-Daytona here, and 6238 is probably the most universally adored Rolex chronograph made. There are the critically lauded and quite rare black dial variants, the lesser known but quite rare and lovely gunmetal grey dials, and then silver. Silver is normally perceived as the most accessible and most widely produced, no less beautiful than its peers just more easily hunted. This one, though, has a pulsations scale.

Pulsations scales can be found, very rarely, in manual Daytonas and Pre-Daytonas. Most were special ordered by medical professionals, though some did just randomly make their way to retailers back then. For 6238 it’s just this example and one other that’s in Goldberger’s book. This one has shown up twice at auction, first in 2019 and now again. That puts the total owner count at 3. There are fewer than 10 ‘medical’ dial Daytonas we know of, so perhaps we’re just over ten in total. Black dials are rare and beautiful, but even so we’re not talking that low in numbers.

This one has ROW on the bridge, indicating it was for the American market. Interestingly, the pulsations scale the top layer printed over the subdial markers and runs right through the pinions of the running seconds and minute counter. It’s a dash dial, with some partially lost tritium but it’s really the scale that matters on this example. This is a chronograph that is not going to be the most noticed. But it remarkable and something that really only the kind of enthusiasts that read this are going to pick up on.

The case here has certainly seen a polish, worth noting. Its dial is honest with decent wear and patina. The tritium plots have some partial degradation but are not totally gone. The scales are all clear and the hands are all right. It's not perfect, but it's honest. It comes as part of Phillips upcoming Decade One.