Admin: Reffuter pass: corroborate three-body/three-part case construction across two houses, add Phillips end-link/clasp stamp detail with honest hedge on date reading

2026-09-15T23:32:20Z

Reffuter pass: corroborate three-body/three-part case construction across two houses, add Phillips end-link/clasp stamp detail with honest hedge on date reading

← Older revision		Revision as of 23:32, 15 September 2026
Line 51:		Line 51:
	\|-		\|-
	\| case construction		\| case construction
	\| three-body ~~per one~~ Antiquorum ~~description~~; screw-down back and crown		\| three-body (Antiquorum) / three-part (Christie's); screw-down back and crown
	\|-		\|-
	\| crystal		\| crystal
Line 186:		Line 186:

	The catalogued watches are tonneau-shaped, 30 to 32mm depending on the house's own measurement		The catalogued watches are tonneau-shaped, 30 to 32mm depending on the house's own measurement
	convention, with a screw-down back and crown. Antiquorum's ~~fullest description calls~~ the		convention, with a screw-down back and crown. Antiquorum and Christie's independently call the
	construction three-body. One Christie's catalogue specifies a plastic crystal; no other cited		construction three-body and three-part respectively, on separate watches from the two different
			case-number bands. One Christie's catalogue specifies a plastic crystal; no other cited
	description gives a crystal material. The bezel is smooth and polished on every documented		description gives a crystal material. The bezel is smooth and polished on every documented
	example; none carries an engine-turned or fluted treatment.		example; none carries an engine-turned or fluted treatment.
Line 197:		Line 198:
	==Bracelets, end links, and clasps==		==Bracelets, end links, and clasps==

	Bracelet and strap presentation varies watch to watch. The Phillips example came on a stainless		Bracelet and strap presentation varies watch to watch. The Phillips example, case 834'991, came on
	steel Rolex Oyster bracelet, 175mm maximum length, with a stainless steel Rolex folding deployant		a stainless steel Rolex Oyster bracelet, 175mm maximum length, with an end link stamped 63 and a
	clasp. The two Christie's honeycomb-dial lots with published bracelet detail both came on a steel		stainless steel Rolex folding deployant clasp stamped 3.55. The wiki's own bracelet and clasp
	Rolex Oyster bracelet and deployant clasp. Antiquorum's case-921,962 example came on a stainless		guide documents clasp date stamps in a Roman-numeral quarter format (for example, I.65 for the
			first quarter of 1965); Phillips' Arabic "3.55" does not match that format cleanly enough to read
			with confidence as a quarter-and-year code, so it is recorded here as a stamped reference rather
			than dated. The two Christie's
			honeycomb-dial lots with published bracelet detail both came on a steel Rolex Oyster bracelet and
			deployant clasp, without a stamped code. Antiquorum's case-921,962 example came on a stainless
	steel Rolex expanding bracelet. Bonhams presents the most varied set: a black leather strap on		steel Rolex expanding bracelet. Bonhams presents the most varied set: a black leather strap on
	the circa-1952 example, a stainless steel expandable bracelet on the circa-1960 example, and,		the circa-1952 example, a stainless steel expandable bracelet on the circa-1960 example, and, on
	on the undated 1950s example, what the catalogue explicitly calls a later-fitted Rolex bracelet —		the undated 1950s example, what the catalogue explicitly calls a later-fitted Rolex bracelet —
	period Rolex, but not documented as original to that watch~~. No end-link or clasp reference number~~		period Rolex, but not documented as original to that watch.
	~~is published for any catalogued 6244~~.

	==Auction record==		==Auction record==

Admin: New reference article: 6244 Oyster Royal (manual-wind, Cal. 710)

2026-09-15T23:09:51Z

New reference article: 6244 Oyster Royal (manual-wind, Cal. 710)

New page

{{DISPLAYTITLE:Rolex 6244 Oyster Royal}}

{{#seo:
|title=Rolex Oyster Royal 6244 — Star & Honeycomb Dials, Cal. 710, Auction Record | Rolexopedia
|description=Rolex reference 6244: a manual-wind Oyster Royal with Cal. 710, star and honeycomb dial variants, and a twelve-lot auction record across five major houses.
|image=Ref 6244 hero.webp
|type=article
}}

<small>Oyster → '''6244'''</small>

<div class="rp-lead">
[[File:Ref 6244 hero.webp|thumb|center|640px|alt=Rolex Oyster Royal 6244, case in the low 835,000s, Bonhams London, circa 1952|Rolex Oyster Royal 6244, applied baton dial, Bonhams London, case in the low 835,000s, circa 1952]]
</div>

The 6244 is a manual-wind steel Oyster from the 1950s and early 1960s, sold under the Oyster
Royal name alongside plainer "Oyster" catalogue titles. Twelve auctioned examples across five
major houses document the reference: three at Bonhams, four at Antiquorum, three at Christie's,
one at Heritage, and one at Phillips. Every catalogued movement is hand-wound; nothing in the
record supports the "self-winding" wording one thin Antiquorum lot used for a single example.

Case numbers split into two bands roughly 90,000 apart, and the two bands date very differently.
The reference's own Cal. 710 is confirmed by name at four of the five houses. That makes 6244 the
first reference in Rolex's 10½-ligne hand-wound Hunter family with an unambiguous caliber stamp;
its siblings carry only a plausible, unconfirmed assignment.

==Core facts==

{| class="wikitable rp-facts"
|-
! detail
! value
|-
| reference
| 6244
|-
| family
| Oyster (manual-wind)
|-
| catalogue names
| Oyster Royal; Oyster; Oyster, shock-resisting
|-
| production
| no single documented range; auction catalogues date individual examples from circa 1952 to circa 1963 across two case-number bands
|-
| case diameter
| 30–32mm across twelve catalogued examples
|-
| case shape
| tonneau
|-
| case construction
| three-body per one Antiquorum description; screw-down back and crown
|-
| crystal
| plastic, per one Christie's catalogue; not stated elsewhere
|-
| bezel
| smooth, polished
|-
| winding
| manual
|-
| movement
| Cal. 710, rhodium-plated, 15 jewels, straight-line lever, Superbalance, self-compensating Breguet balance spring, micrometer regulator
|-
| seconds
| centre seconds on every documented example
|-
| case materials
| stainless steel on eleven documented watches; stainless steel and gold on one
|-
| dial variants documented
| applied baton; tropical; gilt Arabic with red seconds hand; applied gold index; Stelline "star"; honeycomb/chequered with coronet markers
|-
| documented case numbers
| 834'991; ~835,000s; 836'438; 836447; 921,954; 921,962; 923'194
|}

==Where it sits in the line==

Rolex kept a manual-wind Oyster line running well past the Perpetual rotor's 1931 debut. The 6244
belongs to that line, not to the Bubbleback and not to the modern automatic Oyster Perpetual.
Every catalogued movement across all twelve auction lots is hand-wound; the sole exception is a
single word in one Antiquorum listing, addressed below.

The reference sits apart from Rolex's contemporary "Oyster Royal Precision" sub-line — refs. 6426,
6427 and the earlier 2280 — which carries the Precision name in its own catalogue titles. No
documented 6244 lot uses that name. The two branches share a decade and a case style; the
Precision name is the dividing line between them.

Catalogue naming is not settled to one term. Bonhams and Antiquorum both use Oyster Royal for some
lots and plain Oyster for others; Christie's uses Oyster and, on two lots, "Oyster, shock-resisting."
Heritage catalogues its example as Oyster Royal. None of the auction descriptions ties a specific
name to a specific dial or case configuration. The variation reads as inconsistent cataloguing,
not as evidence of distinct factory sub-models.

==Production outline==

No single start-and-end date is documented for the 6244. What exists instead is seven case
numbers across seven of the twelve auction lots, clustering into two bands that different houses
date very differently.

The lower band runs from case 834'991 up to 836447. Phillips dates 834'991 to 1952. Bonhams
dates its low-835,000s example (the last three digits are redacted in the published catalogue
text) to circa 1952 as well. Christie's catalogued two more watches in this same band: case
836'438, dated circa 1959, and case 836447, dated 1962. The two Christie's cases sit only nine
digits apart yet carry dates three years apart from the same house. The reference's own Serial-numbers page
explains the mechanism: Rolex restarted its numeric case sequence in the mid-1950s, so a number in
the low-to-mid 830,000s can fall in either the early-1950s pre-reset sequence or the early-1960s
post-reset one, and the digits alone cannot settle which.

The upper band is tighter. Case 921,954 (Bonhams, dated circa 1960), case 921,962 (Antiquorum,
dated "made in 1962"), and case 923'194 (Christie's, dated circa 1963) sit within about 1,250 of
each other, and all three houses independently read them as early 1960s. None proposes an earlier
decade for this band. That agreement does not exist for the lower band.

Reading the two bands together, the reference was in the Rolex catalogue for at least part of the
early-to-mid 1950s and again in the early 1960s. Whether it sold continuously across that stretch
or the case numbers reflect the reset alone is not something the auction record settles; the
honest reading is two documented production windows joined by a numbering ambiguity, not a single
eleven-year run.

==Movement notes==

Every documented 6244 movement is manual wind. Bonhams, Antiquorum, Christie's and Phillips each
independently name Cal. 710 for examples spanning both case-number bands: rhodium-plated, 15
jewels, straight-line lever escapement, Superbalance with a self-compensating Breguet balance
spring, and a micrometer regulator. The Antiquorum lot with the fullest published movement
description adds a shock-absorber to that specification. One Christie's catalogue names the
movement only by size, a 10¾-ligne calibre, without giving the caliber number, but its jewel count
and architecture match the Cal. 710 examples elsewhere in the record.

That level of agreement makes 6244 the exception in its own movement family.
The reference's own Movements page groups Cal. 700 and 710 as a shared 10½-ligne hand-wound Hunter architecture.
Its siblings 2765, 2595 and 3009 carry only a plausible caliber assignment, since none of their
surfaced auction descriptions names one. The 6244 record names it, repeatedly and across houses.

One movement number is published: No. 16798 on the Bonhams circa-1960 example, alongside case
921,954. No other documented lot publishes a movement number.

A single Antiquorum catalogue entry describes one 6244 as "self-winding." No case, movement, or
dial detail accompanies that listing beyond the word itself, and the same Antiquorum sale
catalogued a second 6244 correctly as manual wind. Cal. 710 is a hand-wound caliber; nothing else
in the record points to an automatic 6244; the simplest reading is a cataloguing slip on a thinly
described lot, not a self-winding variant.

==Dial map==

Six distinct dial treatments are documented across the twelve catalogued watches, and no two
houses describe the same layout in identical terms.

[[File:Ref 6244 dial-tropical.webp|thumb|right|280px|alt=Rolex 6244 tropical dial with gilt baton markers, case 921954|Tropical (brown-toned) dial with applied luminous-tipped gilt baton hour markers and dagger hands. Bonhams London, case 921,954, catalogued circa 1960.]]

Bonhams catalogued three: a silvered textured dial with applied polished pointed baton markers
and a black outer minute track (case in the low 835,000s, circa 1952); a tropical, brown-toned
textured dial with gilt baton markers and dagger hands (case 921,954, circa 1960); and a silvered
dial with applied gilt Arabic numerals, luminous dots, and a red centre seconds hand, on an
undocumented case number catalogued only as "1950's."

[[File:Ref 6244 dial-1962.webp|thumb|right|280px|alt=Rolex 6244 white dial with applied yellow gold indexes, case 921962|White dial with applied yellow gold indexes and radium-coated "alpha" hands. Antiquorum Geneva, case 921,962, "made in 1962."]]

Antiquorum's fullest description covers a white dial with applied yellow gold indexes and
radium-coated "alpha" hands, on case 921,962. Its three thinner lots add no dial detail beyond
"black dial" for one and no description at all for the other two.

A beige dial with gold star numerals and black graphics appears on the Phillips example, case
834'991. This is a Stelline dial — Italian for "little stars" — and Phillips' own editorial
history of the pattern places 6244 among the references that received it, alongside 2705, 6024,
6088, 6090, 6098, and the more complicated 6062. Star-shaped hour markers first appeared on Rolex
dials in 1946 and are most common on dials made between 1950 and 1953, which lines up with the
circa-1952 dating on this particular case. Stern Frères is believed to have been Rolex's sole
supplier of the star-dial component.

[[File:Ref 6244 dial-honeycomb.webp|thumb|right|280px|alt=Rolex 6244 honeycomb dial with coronet hour markers, case 836438|Honeycomb-textured dial with applied baton and Rolex coronet hour markers. Christie's Geneva, case 836'438, catalogued circa 1959, sold for more than three times its estimate.]]

A honeycomb, or chequered, textured dial with applied baton or coronet (crown-logo) hour markers
appears on all three Christie's lots: case 836447 ("matte chequered textured dial with inlaid
coronets and hour markers"), case 923'194 ("white honey comb dial with applied baton and coronet
hour markers"), and case 836'438, where the house's lot essay calls the layout "an unusual honey
comb dial with applied baton and Rolex coronet logos as hour markers, a rare detail for this
reference." The wording varies lot to lot, but the pattern is consistent across three separately
catalogued watches spanning both case-number bands.

==Case, bezel, crystal, and crown==

The catalogued watches are tonneau-shaped, 30 to 32mm depending on the house's own measurement
convention, with a screw-down back and crown. Antiquorum's fullest description calls the
construction three-body. One Christie's catalogue specifies a plastic crystal; no other cited
description gives a crystal material. The bezel is smooth and polished on every documented
example; none carries an engine-turned or fluted treatment.

Eleven of the twelve catalogued watches are stainless steel. The exception is one Antiquorum lot
described only as "stainless steel and gold," with no further detail on which parts carry gold or
how much.

==Bracelets, end links, and clasps==

Bracelet and strap presentation varies watch to watch. The Phillips example came on a stainless
steel Rolex Oyster bracelet, 175mm maximum length, with a stainless steel Rolex folding deployant
clasp. The two Christie's honeycomb-dial lots with published bracelet detail both came on a steel
Rolex Oyster bracelet and deployant clasp. Antiquorum's case-921,962 example came on a stainless
steel Rolex expanding bracelet. Bonhams presents the most varied set: a black leather strap on
the circa-1952 example, a stainless steel expandable bracelet on the circa-1960 example, and,
on the undated 1950s example, what the catalogue explicitly calls a later-fitted Rolex bracelet —
period Rolex, but not documented as original to that watch. No end-link or clasp reference number
is published for any catalogued 6244.

==Auction record==

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Venue
! Date
! Case No.
! Dial
! Result
|-
| Phillips, Hong Kong
| 2016-05-31
| 834'991
| Beige, gold star numerals (Stelline)
| HKD 93,750 (est. HKD 50,000–80,000)
|-
| Christie's, Geneva
| 2013-11-11
| 836'438
| White, honeycomb, baton and coronet markers
| CHF 16,250 (est. CHF 3,000–5,000)
|-
| Christie's, Hong Kong
| 2008-12-03
| 836447
| Matte chequered, inlaid coronets
| HKD 47,500 (est. HKD 40,000–50,000)
|-
| Bonhams, London Knightsbridge
| 2019-11-19
| ~835,0xx
| Silvered, applied baton markers
| Unsold (est. GBP 700–900)
|-
| Bonhams, London Knightsbridge
| 2018-05-22
| 921,954
| Tropical, gilt baton markers
| GBP 875 incl. premium (est. GBP 700–900)
|-
| Antiquorum, Geneva
| 2008-03-16
| 921,962
| White, applied yellow gold indexes
| CHF 1,440 (est. CHF 1,700–2,700)
|-
| Christie's, New York
| 2013-06-11
| 923'194
| White, honeycomb, baton and coronet markers
| USD 8,125 (est. USD 7,000–9,000)
|-
| Bonhams, London Knightsbridge
| 2009-11-24
| not published
| Silvered, gilt Arabic, red centre seconds
| Unsold (est. GBP 400–600)
|-
| Heritage Auctions
| 2025
| not published
| Silver, applied hour indices
| Not recovered (listing behind a bot-check)
|-
| Antiquorum, Geneva
| 2018-11-11
| not published
| Not described
| CHF 2,000 (est. CHF 1,500–2,500)
|-
| Antiquorum, Geneva
| 2018-11-11
| not published
| Not described ("self-winding" per catalogue text; see Movement notes)
| CHF 1,000 (est. CHF 1,000–2,000)
|-
| Antiquorum, Online
| 2021-09-22
| not published
| Not described (steel and gold)
| CHF 1,062 (est. CHF 1,000–2,000)
|}

The Christie's Geneva result for case 836'438 is the strongest in the record relative to its own
estimate, closing at more than three times its CHF 3,000–5,000 low end. Currencies, sale years,
and dial conditions differ enough across the twelve results that they do not form a price series;
what the table does show is that honeycomb-dial and star-dial examples with published case detail
consistently outsell the thinly catalogued, undescribed lots.

== Related references ==

* [[Reference:2765|Oyster Chronometer 2765]] — manual-wind contemporary, several catalogue names for one reference
* [[Reference:1873|Oyster Royal 1873]] — earlier manual flat-back Oyster, same catalogue-naming inconsistency
* [[Reference:2784|Oyster Junior Sport 2784]] — manual-wind promotional Oyster of the same general era
* [[Reference:3009|Oyster Chronometre Scientific 3009]] — manual-wind Oyster with a comparably thin auction record
* [[Reference:2574|Oyster Royal 2574]] — pre-war manual Oyster, boy's size

See also the [[Reference:bubbleback|early Oyster and Bubbleback index]], [[Reference:Movements|movement reference]], [[Reference:Bracelets|bracelet & clasp guide]], and [[Reference:Serial-numbers|serial numbers by year]].

== Sources ==

* [https://www.bonhams.com/auction/25398/lot/66/rolex-a-stainless-steel-manual-wind-wristwatch-oyster-royal-ref-6244-circa-1952/ "Rolex. A stainless steel manual wind wristwatch, Oyster Royal, Ref: 6244, Circa 1952", Bonhams, London Knightsbridge, 2019-11-19]
* [https://www.bonhams.com/auction/24628/lot/190/rolex-a-stainless-steel-manual-wind-bracelet-watch-oyster-royal-ref-6244-circa-1960/ "Rolex. A stainless steel manual wind bracelet watch, Oyster Royal, Ref: 6244, Circa 1960", Bonhams, London Knightsbridge, 2018-05-22]
* [https://www.bonhams.com/auction/16882/lot/199/rolex-a-stainless-steel-centre-seconds-bracelet-watchoyster-ref-6244-1950s/ "Rolex. A stainless steel centre seconds bracelet watch, Oyster, Ref 6244, 1950's", Bonhams, London Knightsbridge, 2009-11-24]
* [https://catalog.antiquorum.swiss/en/lots/rolex-lot-203-527 "Rolex, Oyster, shock-resisting, case No. 921962, Ref. 6244, Made in 1962", Antiquorum, Geneva, 2008-03-16]
* [https://catalog.antiquorum.swiss/en/lots/rolex-ref-6244-oyster-lot-317-101 "Rolex, Ref. 6244, Oyster", Antiquorum, Geneva, 2018-11-11]
* [https://catalog.antiquorum.swiss/en/lots/rolex-ref-6244-oyster-royal-lot-317-188 "Rolex, Ref. 6244, Oyster Royal, steel", Antiquorum, Geneva, 2018-11-11]
* [https://catalog.antiquorum.swiss/en/lots/rolex-ref-6244-oyster-royal-lot-342-156 "Rolex, Ref. 6244, Oyster Royal, steel and gold", Antiquorum, Geneva (Online), 2021-09-22]
* [https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-5158176 "Rolex, Ref. 6244, stainless steel manual-winding bracelet watch, case 836447, manufactured in 1962", Christie's, Hong Kong, 2008-12-03]
* [https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-5694649 "Rolex. A Rare Stainless Steel Wristwatch with Honey Comb Dial and Bracelet, signed Rolex, Oyster, Ref. 6244, case No. 923'194, circa 1963", Christie's, New York, 2013-06-11]
* [https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-5731475 "Rolex. A rare stainless steel wristwatch with sweep centre seconds, textured dial and bracelet, signed Rolex, Oyster, shock-resisting, ref. 6244, case no. 836'438, circa 1959", Christie's, Geneva, 2013-11-11]
* [https://jewelry.ha.com/itm/timepieces/wristwatch/rolex-stainless-steel-oyster-royal-ref-6244-circa-1952/a/21177-13058.s "Rolex, Stainless Steel Oyster Royal Ref. 6244, Circa 1952", Heritage Auctions, 2025]
* [https://www.phillips.com/detail/rolex/96544 "Rolex Ref. 6244, honeycomb 'star' dial", Phillips, The Hong Kong Watch Auction: TWO, 2016-05-31]
* [https://phillips.com/article/144079526/rolex-star-stelline-dials-history-6062-galaxy "Appreciating The History Of Rolex's Rare, Vintage 'Star' Dials", Phillips]

[[Category:Oyster]]

Reference:6244 - Revision history

Admin: Reffuter pass: corroborate three-body/three-part case construction across two houses, add Phillips end-link/clasp stamp detail with honest hedge on date reading

Admin: New reference article: 6244 Oyster Royal (manual-wind, Cal. 710)