Why This Watch Matters The ref. 6239 "Big" Daytona offers one of the cleanest dial designs in all of manually-wound Daytonas. The Full Story The Rolex Daytona has reached legendary status in the watch collecting world and is widely considered to be one of the most desirable watches in existence, regardless of being vintage or contemporary. It all started in 1963 when Rolex debuted the ref. 6239. The so-called "Cosmograph" was a chronograph with a tachymeter on the bezel and was originally marketed toward drivers. Fun Fact: Rolex actually referred to this model as the "Le Mans" in early advertisements before it became the official timekeeper of the Daytona International Speedway in Florida. As a result, the Cosmograph would, of course, eventually be named the Daytona, and most known models have featured both names printed on the dial. The defining visual characteristics of the ref. 6239 include a steel bezel and pump pushers for the chronograph functionality. In 1966, Rolex would have offered this model with either a white/silver dial and black registers, or black dials with silver-white registers; here, we have the latter in the reverse panda fashion. The watch we are offering is a Daytona from 1966 and has been dubbed a "Big" Daytona. This is in direct reference to the large Daytona text on the dial. The dial says "Rolex Cosmograph Daytona," in an almost pyramid style, with the "Daytona" text printed larger than normal, giving the model a different look than you typically see that is very clean without any text above the sub-dial at six o'clock. This watch features the early 300 unit bezel as well as an early "long” hour hand. When you look at the hour hand, it is a bit closer to the hour markers than later examples; Rolex would eventually make the hour hand shorter. This watch also features its original thin subsidiary seconds hand and flared minute and hour register hands, while later examples had thicker and uniform sub-dial hands. Rolex would also later change the bezels to indicate "200" units. These are a few neat little details that one might not always catch when first looking at the watch. The Valjoux 722 manually wound movement inside is stamped "ROW," which was the U.S. import code for Rolex at the time and indicates the watch was destined for the U.S. market after it was built in Switzerland. This watch comes with a matching Rolex C&I USA rivet Oyster bracelet. The Fine Print Maker: RolexModel: DaytonaReference: 6239Year: 1966Case No: 1463570Dimensions: 36mm diameter; 13mm thickness Crystal: Plexiglass Lume: Yes, tritium Caliber: Rolex signed Valjoux, manually-wound, caliber 722 Bracelet/Strap: Rolex C&I USA, stainless steel, rivet link Oyster with one unmarked and one no. 57 endlink (Approximate max wrist size 7.75in / 197mm)Lug Width: 19mmBox/Papers: No What We Love And What You Should Know Things We Love: - "Big" Daytona font- Clean black dial with stark white sub-registers - Early "300" bezel Things To Know: - Light scratches on case- One unmarked endlink- Varying lume degradation on dial This Daytona is in overall excellent, honest condition. The case is likely to have been lightly polished in the past but still remains strong and sharp with some scratches. The back of the lugs have some scratches and marks from the bracelet being removed. The numbers are clearly visible between both sets of lugs; between the lugs shows some wear. The dial is in excellent condition with a light patina and excellent matte surface. The white sub dials have developed some light patina. Most of the lume plots on the dial show varying degrees of degradation and have developed a patina. The lume on the hands and dial have developed a patina that is creamy off-white in color. The central hands and sub dial hands have developed some very light patina. The original bezel has remained strong with some scratches and light nicks on the edges. The outer edge on the bezel between 12 and one show some light wear. The inside caseback is stamped "6239" which is not uncommon as the casebacks were often interchangeably fitted across references at the time. The bracelet with the rivet links is in good condition with some scratches and marks. The clasp is marked "I 64," indicating it is from the first quarter of 1964, indicating it is slightly earlier than the watch. One endlink is unmarked and one marked "57," and both fit very well to the case and bracelet. The crown shows some light wear. The crystal has some scratches. This watch was photographed on a 175mm/6.9inch wrist.
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