Silver Dial 6238 Rolex 'Pre-Daytona' Chronograph

With all the ‘Black Knight’ insanely valuable 6238s, it’s easy to forget just what an insane value the silver dial ‘last of the Pre-Daytonas’ is. Introduced in the early 1960s and produced in large overlap with its successor, the 6239, the 6238 ran until 1967. It was notable lacking a few points that make a Daytona a Daytona, primarily the external tachymeter bezel. However, the 6238 has been on a slow ascension in recent years. While not a Daytona, many appreciate the purity of purpose and slightly more restrained aesthetic that 6238 brings to the table. And it’s father to one of the most mythologized chronographs man has yet made—that’s fun.

Special thank you to Jake Boreham (@jakeboreham) for the excellent photography in this Find. 

The first half of 6238 production looked much more like center of Pre-Daytona years with multi-scale dials comprised of telemeters and tachymeters on the dial, reminiscent of 6234. And the same goes for the handset, which began as an alpha/dagger shape. The 6238 eventually morph into something with this stark Singer dial and baton hands, which is wildly clean. To think was sold alongside a 6239 in a catalogue, imagine walking into Rolex and being able to order a Daytona with or without a scaled bezel. Dials could be silver, gunmetal grey (they are different and rarer), matte black, and gloss black. And pulsations do exist as well, which look wild. Most agree silver dials with mile in the scale are service. Not this one.

We’ve highlighted a number of black 6238s on Finds over the years, which might lead one to think they’re common. That’s just our focus, the black dials are surprisingly rare. But silver and even gunmetal aren’t. Not really. It’s widely estimated to have been made in about 3000 examples, the vast majority of which are this silver sunburst dial. And as such they’re a strong value today, with the market centering around 50K USD pending all the usual important stuff like condition, set, or provenance. Speaking of provenance, this particular one has a caseback engraving that reads ‘To Bill . . .in friendship Dick Matt’ and dated Christmas ’66. The 6238 is Rolex chronograph at its purest. And when you sprinkle in a bit of relative value the recipe is quite irresistible. 

This example is beautiful and honest. No bracelet, which should be noted. The dial shows no signs of damage or scars. There's a tiny bit of partial loss on the cardinal pips. The hands are a touch lighter and would be worth quick UV flash but they're in range of could be original tritium shade-wise. The case is great, honest and sharp. It comes from a well-regarded London retailer.