Reference:6263: Difference between revisions

Line 165:

The Albino 6263 is a white-on-white monochromatic dial — silver sub-dials on a white dial — bearing only "Rolex Oyster Cosmograph" without the standard "Daytona" wording or any other secondary text. Three examples are documented to date. The first was Eric Clapton's, sold at Christie's New York in June 2003 for USD 50,190; resold by Sotheby's in 2008 for about USD 505,000; sold again at Phillips in May 2015 for CHF 1,325,000 (about USD 1.42M).

The Albino is ~~the most~~ disputed ~~dial in the manual-wind Daytona literature~~. ~~Benjamin Clymer's 2013~~ Hodinkee ~~piece~~ treated ~~the Albino~~ as an as-issued Rolex variant ~~of unknown production count, with a third example then attributed to John Goldberger~~. ~~Jose Pereztroika~~'s ~~December~~ 2025 ~~Perezcope~~ dossier — built on a Tom Bolt confession — argues the ~~variant is a~~ late-1990s ~~Bolt construction:~~ a ~~Pre-Daytona~~ 6238 ~~silver~~ dial~~, recovered from a missing-bezel 6238 acquired in South America,~~ transplanted into ~~a 6263 case (case 2874334 from Bolt's stock) using 6238 hands because the~~ 6263 ~~hands did not fit the recessed sub-dial geometry~~. Sotheby's ~~Abu Dhabi~~ sold a third ~~Albino on 5 December~~ 2025 for USD 952,500 including premium ~~(Lot 340, case 2648447)~~. ~~Bolt visited~~ the ~~exhibition the day before publication, met Sotheby's chairman of~~ watches ~~Sam Hines~~, ~~and disclosed his role; Sotheby's lot essay continued to read "origins of~~ the ~~Albino dial are unknown." Pereztroika's forensic markers on Lot 340 — discontinued thin-tapered sub-dial hands inconsistent with a 1971 case, a high-sitting 30-minute sub-dial hand~~, ~~plating coming off the screw-down pushers — argue against~~ original-issue status~~. The framing~~ is not settled~~. All three positions stay on record~~.

The Albino is still disputed. Hodinkee treated it as a possible as-issued Rolex variant. Perezcope's 2025 dossier, built around a Tom Bolt confession, argues the known Albinos are late-1990s constructions using a silver 6238 dial transplanted into 6263 cases. Sotheby's sold a third example in 2025 for USD 952,500 including premium without adopting that conclusion. The clean position is simple: the watches exist, the market treats them seriously, but original-issue status is not settled.

@@ Line 165: / Line 165: @@
 The Albino 6263 is a white-on-white monochromatic dial — silver sub-dials on a white dial — bearing only "Rolex Oyster Cosmograph" without the standard "Daytona" wording or any other secondary text. Three examples are documented to date. The first was Eric Clapton's, sold at Christie's New York in June 2003 for USD 50,190; resold by Sotheby's in 2008 for about USD 505,000; sold again at Phillips in May 2015 for CHF 1,325,000 (about USD 1.42M).
-The Albino is the most disputed dial in the manual-wind Daytona literature. Benjamin Clymer's 2013 Hodinkee piece treated the Albino as an as-issued Rolex variant of unknown production count, with a third example then attributed to John Goldberger. Jose Pereztroika's December 2025 Perezcope dossier — built on a Tom Bolt confession — argues the variant is a late-1990s Bolt construction: a Pre-Daytona 6238 silver dial, recovered from a missing-bezel 6238 acquired in South America, transplanted into a 6263 case (case 2874334 from Bolt's stock) using 6238 hands because the 6263 hands did not fit the recessed sub-dial geometry. Sotheby's Abu Dhabi sold a third Albino on 5 December 2025 for USD 952,500 including premium (Lot 340, case 2648447). Bolt visited the exhibition the day before publication, met Sotheby's chairman of watches Sam Hines, and disclosed his role; Sotheby's lot essay continued to read "origins of the Albino dial are unknown." Pereztroika's forensic markers on Lot 340 — discontinued thin-tapered sub-dial hands inconsistent with a 1971 case, a high-sitting 30-minute sub-dial hand, plating coming off the screw-down pushers — argue against original-issue status. The framing is not settled. All three positions stay on record.
+The Albino is still disputed. Hodinkee treated it as a possible as-issued Rolex variant. Perezcope's 2025 dossier, built around a Tom Bolt confession, argues the known Albinos are late-1990s constructions using a silver 6238 dial transplanted into 6263 cases. Sotheby's sold a third example in 2025 for USD 952,500 including premium without adopting that conclusion. The clean position is simple: the watches exist, the market treats them seriously, but original-issue status is not settled.
 <span id="sigma-dial"></span>