Now Live: Rolex Pre-Daytona Ref. 6238, 18k Yellow Gold, Silver Dial

Now live: a Rolex ref. 6238 in 18k yellow gold with a silver dial. Made alongside the first Daytonas in the 1960s, the 6238 is the chronograph that perfected the layout before the Cosmograph name existed, and gold examples are among the scarcest Rolex chronographs of the decade. This one has the crisp “no gap” dial, a case spared from heavy polishing, and its period 18k gold bracelet with all 13 links.

Why It Matters

Rolex had been making chronographs since the 1930s, but the 6238 set the template. Introduced around 1962, it brought the slim 36mm Oyster case, baton hands and clean tri-compax layout, with the tachymeter printed on the dial rather than on a bezel. When the Cosmograph 6239 arrived in 1963 it took that design and added the bezel, while the 6238 continued alongside it through the decade.

That makes the 6238 the true origin point of the Daytona line. Collectors who once treated it as a footnote now see it as the purer design: dressier, slimmer and unbranded. Powered by the Valjoux 72B, it is also one of the great column-wheel chronographs of the 1960s.

Steel examples are rare. Gold examples are scarcer still, and they surface far less often than gold Daytonas of the same era.

This Example

The silver dial is the centerpiece, with tight “no gap” ROLEX CHRONOGRAPH text, clean luminous indices and three sunken registers free of discoloration. The 18k case keeps sharp lugs and flanks without signs of aggressive polishing, and the chronograph engages and resets cleanly. It wears a period-correct 18k gold “750” bracelet with all 13 links.

Specifications

Reference

6238

Case

36mm 18k yellow gold, pump pushers

Movement

Valjoux 72B, manual wind

Dial

Silver, “no gap” text, tachymeter scale

Bracelet

18k yellow gold “750,” 13 links, folding Rolex clasp

Serial

1422xxx

Price

$245,000

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