Now Live: Rolex Pre-Daytona Ref. 6238, Stainless Steel

Now live: a Rolex Pre-Daytona ref. 6238 in stainless steel with a silver dial. The 6238 is where the Daytona story begins, a slim 36mm chronograph with no tachymeter bezel and no Daytona signature, and it is the reference George Lazenby wore as James Bond. This one pairs an evenly aged dial and sharp case with a later caliber 722, making it a vintage Rolex chronograph you can actually wear.

Why It Matters

Introduced around 1962, the 6238 set the layout every Daytona would follow: a 36mm Oyster case, baton hands and a clean three-register dial, with the tachymeter printed on the dial itself. Rolex made it alongside the first Cosmographs, and next to them it reads almost formal, closer to a dress chronograph than a racing tool.

That restraint is the point. Collectors increasingly see the 6238 as the purer expression of the design before motorsport branding arrived. It also earned a place in film history in 1969, when Lazenby’s Bond wore one in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.

The original Valjoux 72B is a fine movement, but parts are increasingly scarce, and that is the practical headache of owning any 1960s chronograph.

This Example

The case keeps sharp lines and the silver dial has aged evenly, without the spotting that affects so many dials of the era. The movement has been upgraded from the original 72B to the later caliber 722, Rolex’s own evolution of the same Valjoux architecture, which is easier to service and more consistent on the wrist. The look and character are untouched. It sits on a riveted Oyster bracelet.

Specifications

Reference

6238

Case

36mm stainless steel, pump pushers, screw back

Movement

Caliber 722, manual wind, replacing the original 72B

Dial

Silver, three registers, tachymeter scale

Bracelet

Riveted Oyster

Serial

934xxx

Price

$50,000

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