Posts Tagged ‘Cosmograph’
‘Floating Big Red’ Dial 6265 Rolex Cosmograph Daytona
At the center of vintage Rolex collecting lies the Daytona, it’s the sun around which everything else orbits. Except, if we’re keeping the astronomy analogy, it’s really a binary star system, as vintage Cosmograph is split between Paul Newmans and everything else from 6239 until the end of Zenith calibres. I’m finding a lot of…
Read More‘Grand Prix de Monaco 1996’ 16520 Rolex Daytona
This is one of those rare occasions where a solid caseback is way, way more interesting than the dial. Simply engraved, ‘Grand Prix de Monaco 1996’, it unlocks a whole world of unknowns and potential history. We know for certain that in the ’96 Monaco Grand Prix, Michael Schumacher took pole with some controversy, causing…
Read More‘Small Daytona’ Dial 6240 Rolex Cosmograph
The 6240 is, arguably, the most important Cosmograph reference not to be hyped. It would not be a stretch to say that all screw-down Daytonas exist because of this reference’s lineage. Production numbers of the 6240 were exceedingly small at fewer than 2000 examples, as is the frequency of conversation surrounding it today. Two years after…
Read MoreOman Khanjar Dial 6265 Rolex Cosmograph Daytona
Speaking plainly, this is the only ‘John Mayer’ Daytona I really care about. Okay, his is a Desert Eagle but go with me here. This Oman 6265 and the Desert Eagle 6263 (& 6265) are the only two recent sport Rolexes to share a very distinct privilege. Unlike nearly all other Middle Eastern dials, on…
Read More‘FIFA World Cup Netherlands’ 116519 Rolex Daytona
Yes, Rolex made an orange racing dial, white gold Daytona. Rolex almost never create limited editions or collaborations. But the operative word there is almost. If you’re 22 SAS, a winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, or Dutch Football Team competing for the World Cup, you just might get your own take on…
Read More6238 Rolex Pre-Daytona Chronograph in 14k Yellow Gold
If everything Cosmograph is what gets you turned on, and you happen to be an American, I’m sorry for what I’m about to do. Nothing else come close to this 6238. With dial marked simply as ‘Rolex Chronograph’, as opposed to a movie credit scroll of modernity, a smooth, scale-less bezel, and in 14k yellow…
Read MoreTropical 6262 Rolex Daytona
If there is a god, I like to imagine that tropical dials are his way of saying, ‘wear your damn watches’. The sun is a ball of nuclear chaos 8.3 light minutes away from Earth. But its effects are not always this attractive. Consider for example the female residents of Florida between the ages of…
Read More116520 ‘Panna Dial’ Rolex Daytona
This is the next Patrizzi. It’s not often I get to say that, so let me elaborate. Osvaldo Patrizzi was first to clock a change in some 16520 Zenith Daytona dials, where subdial rings would turn a taupe golden tan with sun exposure. Watch collectors adore a good defect. We also adore a cream or…
Read MoreTropical 6262 Rolex Daytona
Tropical dials have a tendency to polarize watch collectors like few other topics. Godiva 1665 DRSDs, caramel 321 Speedmasters, and latte Cosmographs all have one thing in common: encompassing adoration or outright hatred. Think Patek’s green 5711 caused division? Bring a hazel-tan 3700 to your nearest watch group. I’ll warn you now, I tend to…
Read More‘Desert Eagle’ 6263 Rolex Daytona
Imagine being invited into Jean-Frederic Dufour’s palatial office, sitting in some absurdly sumptuous modern leather chair, and asking him if he might be able to remove the name ‘Rolex’ from his dial for you. Just a few pieces, of course. You think asking an AD for ceramic Daytona is implausible? I suspect Mr. Dufour would…
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