Rolexopedia

Reference:6240: Difference between revisions

[checked revision][checked revision]
← Older editNewer edit →
VisualWikitext
Layout: restore the original lead caption
Tag: Manual revert
Full prose, movement, evidence, and image audit
Line 2: Line 2:
{{#seo:
{{#seo:
|title=Rolex Daytona 6240 — First Screw-Down-Pusher Daytona, 1965–1969 | Rolexopedia
|title=Rolex Daytona 6240 — First Screw-Down-Pusher Daytona, 1965–1969 | Rolexopedia
|description=The 6240 introduced the screw-down chronograph pushers and Oyster case to the Daytona line in 1965, raising water resistance to 100m. Includes the disputed Neanderthal prototype and Mk0 Millerighe pushers.
|description=The 6240 introduced screw-down chronograph pushers and the Oyster case to the Daytona line in 1965. Contemporary descriptions give it a 100m rating; the page covers the disputed Neanderthal dial and early Millerighe pushers.
|keywords=Rolex 6240, Daytona 6240, Neanderthal, Millerighe, Oyster Cosmograph, screw-down pushers, Perezcope, Phillips Daytona Ultimatum, Mk0
|keywords=Rolex 6240, Daytona 6240, Neanderthal, Millerighe, Oyster Cosmograph, screw-down pushers, Perezcope, Phillips Daytona Ultimatum, Mk0
|image=Ref 6240 hero.webp
|image=Ref 6240 hero.webp
Line 19: Line 19:
</div>
</div>


The 6240 is the first Oyster-cased Daytona and the first Rolex chronograph with screw-down pushers. It ran from 1965 to 1969, sitting between the pump-pusher 6239 and the long-running 6263, and it set the architecture every later Daytona inherited. An acrylic black bezel insert replaced the engraved metal tachymeter, the case earned 100m of water resistance, and the dial finally carried the word "Oyster" because the chronograph could now claim it.
The 6240 introduced Rolex's Oyster format to the Cosmograph in 1965. Its screw-down chronograph pushers and crown improved water resistance, while its black acrylic tachymeter insert replaced the engraved metal bezel used on the 6239. Rolex made the reference in steel during a short run that preceded the 6263 and 6265.


<span id="core-facts"></span>
<span id="core-facts"></span>


== Core facts ==
==Core facts==


{| class="wikitable rp-facts"
{| class="wikitable rp-facts"
Line 32: Line 32:
| Family || Daytona (Cosmograph, manual-wind)
| Family || Daytona (Cosmograph, manual-wind)
|-
|-
| Production || 1965 to 1969
| Production || c.1965 to 1969
|-
|-
| Movement || caliber 722-1 (Valjoux 72 base), 18,000 vph
| Movement || Valjoux 72 family; documented examples include 72B, 722, and 722-1; 18,000 vph
|-
|-
| Case || 36mm, 19mm lug width, screw-down chronograph pushers
| Case || about 37mm, 19mm lug width, screw-down chronograph pushers
|-
|-
| Crystal || acrylic
| Crystal || acrylic
Line 44: Line 44:
| Crown || Twinlock screw-down
| Crown || Twinlock screw-down
|-
|-
| Water resistance || 100m / 330ft (up from 50m on 6239)
| Water resistance || Contemporary descriptions give 100m / 330ft; do not assume a vintage example still passes a pressure test
|-
|-
| Dial || "Oyster Cosmograph" — Cosmograph + Paul Newman exotic; rare "Solo"
| Dial || Standard Cosmograph, exotic dials, and sparsely documented "Solo" examples
|-
|-
| Bracelet || 7205 rivet (early), 7835 folded (late), end-link 271
| Bracelet || 7205 or 6635 rivet examples are documented; end links vary by fitment
|-
|-
| Successor || 6263 (screw-down pushers, long run)
| Successor || 6263 (screw-down pushers, long run)
Line 58: Line 58:
== Where it sits in the line ==
== Where it sits in the line ==


The manual-wind Daytona references break cleanly into three groups by pusher type and bezel material. The 6239 (1963 to 1969) carries pump pushers and a metal bezel, the 6241 (1966 to 1969) carries pump pushers and an acrylic bezel, and the 6240 sits with the screw-down pushers that define the Oyster sub-family. The 6262 and 6264 (1970 to 1972) bridge into the higher-frequency 21,600 vph Valjoux 727 era, and the 6263 (1971 to 1988) carries the screw-down-pusher Oyster format for the long run.
The manual-wind Daytona references are easiest to separate by pusher type and bezel material. The 6239 used pump pushers and an engraved metal bezel; the 6241 used pump pushers and a black acrylic insert; and the 6240 introduced screw-down pushers in the Oyster branch. The 6262 and 6264 followed with pump pushers and the faster 21,600 vph Valjoux 727. The 6263 and 6265 then carried the screw-down Oyster format into the long production run. Published dates differ at the boundaries, especially around the 1969–1971 transition.


Rolex patented the screw-down chronograph pusher in 1964 (CH423638), and the 6240 was the first reference to put that patent into production. The construction held up, and the rest of the manual-wind line followed — first after the brief 6262 / 6264 detour back to pump pushers and a metal bezel, then permanently from the 6263 onward.
The screw-down pusher construction became the defining feature of the later Oyster Daytonas. The 6262 and 6264 briefly returned to pump pushers before the 6263 and 6265 made the screw-down format the long-running version.


<span id="production-outline"></span>
<span id="production-outline"></span>
== Production outline ==
== Production outline ==


Production ran from 1965 to 1969 across the 1.1-million to 2.0-million serial range, in parallel with the pump-pusher 6239 and (from 1966) the 6241. Rolex never published a total. The most often-cited working figure sits around 2,000 examples, which puts the 6240 at roughly one-tenth the volume of the 6239 across the same window. Colin A. White's ''The Vintage Rolex Field Manual'' and Pucci Papaleo's ''Ultimate Rolex Daytona'' are the two book-length references most likely to carry tighter numbers, and the 2,000-piece figure should be read as a working estimate rather than a settled count.
Published examples place the run from about 1965 to 1969 and show serials in roughly the 1.1-million to 2.0-million range. Those ranges are working collector guides, not a Rolex production ledger. Rolex did not publish a total; auction and collector references commonly estimate about 1,700 to 2,000 watches, so any census should be treated as approximate.


Two broad production phases run through the reference. The earliest is the Millerighe-pusher batch in the 1.1M to 1.3M serial band, followed by the standard cylindrical-pusher run that carries the watch through to the end of production.
Collectors commonly separate an early Millerighe-pusher group from the later smooth cylindrical-pusher watches. The often-cited 1.1M to 1.3M band is a working range, not a hard factory cutoff.


Paul Newman exotic dials begin appearing on Daytona production around the 1.5-million serial range, fitted across the 6239, 6240, and 6241 cases at roughly one in twenty examples by the prevailing collector accounting. The Neanderthal (case 1439122), sold at the 2018 Phillips Daytona Ultimatum auction, sits inside this band and is the basis for the attribution dispute treated in Special branches.
Exotic dials appear among 6239, 6240, and 6241 examples, but the surviving literature does not establish a reliable start serial or production percentage. The Neanderthal, case 1439122, was sold at the 2018 Phillips Daytona Ultimatum auction and is the subject of the attribution dispute below.


<span id="movement-notes"></span>
<span id="movement-notes"></span>
== Movement notes ==
== Movement notes ==


The 6240 runs on caliber 722-1 throughout, the second Rolex-stamped derivative of the Valjoux 72 ebauche, with column-wheel chronograph control, lateral clutch, tri-compax sub-dial layout, and a 17-jewel 18,000 vph beat rate. The architecture is the same Valjoux 72 base used across the entire manual-wind Daytona run; the 722-1 designation marks Rolex's intermediate finishing and bridge revisions before the 727 brought the frequency jump to 21,600 vph at the start of the 6262 / 6264 run in 1970.
The 6240 uses the Rolex-modified Valjoux 72 family. Auction records and collector references identify 72B, 722, and 722-1 examples, so the reference number alone does not establish the caliber in a particular watch. These are 17-jewel, 18,000 vph, column-wheel chronographs with a horizontal clutch; the 727 brought the frequency change to 21,600 vph in the later 6262 and 6264.


Every 6240 runs at 18,000 vph. The reference saw no late-run frequency change; the faster movement waited for the 6262 generation. US-bound 722-1 examples carry an engraved "ROW" import code on the balance bridge, the same import marking documented on the 6241 and 6239 of the period.
Documented 6240 examples run at 18,000 vph; the faster movement belongs to the later 6262 and 6264 generation. A "ROW" import engraving can appear on US-bound movements, but it is an example-level observation rather than a universal reference marker.


<span id="dial-map"></span>
<span id="dial-map"></span>
Line 88: Line 88:
| 1.1M-1.3M (~1965) || 1965 || Mk0 Millerighe pusher (early), Cosmograph || tritium || 7205 || 271 || Introduction year. Mk0 Millerighe pushers are the early 6240 marker per Phillips Daytona Ultimatum.
| 1.1M-1.3M (~1965) || 1965 || Mk0 Millerighe pusher (early), Cosmograph || tritium || 7205 || 271 || Introduction year. Mk0 Millerighe pushers are the early 6240 marker per Phillips Daytona Ultimatum.
|-
|-
| 1.3M-1.6M (~1966-1967) || 1966-1967 || Cosmograph, Paul Newman exotic (Mk1, intermittent) || tritium || 7205 || 271 || Paul Newman exotic dial fitted ~1 in 20 from 1966 onward per multiple sources. The Neanderthal 6240 sits in this batch (disputed — see known_disputes).
| 1.3M-1.6M (working range) || ~1966-1967 || Cosmograph, exotic examples including early Newman-style dials || tritium || 7205 || 271 or 71 family || The serial and dial ranges overlap; the Neanderthal case 1439122 falls in this broad group, but its dial attribution is disputed.
|-
|-
| 1.6M-2.0M (~1968-1969) || 1968-1969 || Cosmograph, Paul Newman exotic || tritium || 7205 || 271 || Final two years before 6262 / 6264 succession with the faster Valjoux 727. The 7835 folded-link bracelet may have appeared on the very latest examples.
| 1.6M-2.0M (~1968-1969) || 1968-1969 || Cosmograph, Paul Newman exotic || tritium || 7205 || 271 || Final two years before 6262 / 6264 succession with the faster Valjoux 727. The 7835 folded-link bracelet may have appeared on the very latest examples.
|}
|}


The dial set is small. Standard Oyster Cosmograph dials dominate the run, Paul Newman exotics are much scarcer, and the Solo dial stays a very small Italian-channel oddity.
Standard Oyster Cosmograph dials dominate the surviving record. Exotic dials are less common, and Solo is a separate, sparsely documented dial form.


{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
Line 102: Line 102:
| Standard reverse panda Cosmograph || Silver-white dial, black sub-dials, same text block || Less common than panda but not rare
| Standard reverse panda Cosmograph || Silver-white dial, black sub-dials, same text block || Less common than panda but not rare
|-
|-
| Paul Newman exotic (Mk1) || Art-deco sub-dial numerals, square chrono hashes, contrasting outer minute track || Fitted intermittently from ~1966 across panda and reverse panda backgrounds, ~1 in 20 of period production
| Paul Newman exotic (Mk1) || Art-deco sub-dial numerals, square chrono hashes, contrasting outer minute track || Fitted intermittently across panda and reverse-panda backgrounds; the surviving record does not establish a production percentage
|-
|-
| Solo dial || Only the Rolex coronet and "ROLEX" word printed at 12; no "Oyster Cosmograph" line || Italian collector terminology (''solo'' = "only"); small surviving population, attribution-sensitive
| Solo dial || Only the Rolex coronet and "ROLEX" word printed at 12; no "Oyster Cosmograph" line || Italian collector terminology (''solo'' = "only"); small surviving population, attribution-sensitive
|-
|-
| "Neanderthal" Paul Newman || Monochromatic black-and-white palette, larger-than-usual chrono registers, no dial lettering beyond Rolex coronet || Single attributed example (case 1439122) — disputed; see Special branches
| "Neanderthal" Paul Newman || Monochromatic black-and-white palette, larger-than-usual chrono registers, no dial lettering beyond Rolex coronet || Single attributed example, case 1439122; the dial attribution is disputed in Special branches
|}
|}


Line 114: Line 114:
== Case, bezel, crystal, and crown ==
== Case, bezel, crystal, and crown ==


The case is the period-standard 36mm steel Oyster, 19mm between the lugs, and it carries the three changes that separate the 6240 from the 6239: screw-down chronograph pushers, an acrylic black bezel insert in place of the engraved metal tachymeter, and a depth rating jumped from 50m to 100m. All three changes track together. The screw-down pushers are what the depth-rating jump and the "Oyster" dial designation depend on, and the acrylic bezel insert was Rolex's chosen aesthetic for the Oyster-cased Daytona of the period.
The case is a steel Oyster case of about 37mm with 19mm between the lugs. Compared with the 6239, the 6240 adds screw-down chronograph pushers and an acrylic black tachymeter insert in place of the engraved metal bezel. Contemporary descriptions give the Oyster configuration a 100m rating, but that figure does not establish the present water resistance of an individual vintage watch.


The screw-down pushers themselves come in two generations on the 6240. The earliest, fitted only to the first-batch watches in the 1.1M to 1.3M serial band, carry the vertically grooved Millerighe knurling. From mid-1966 onward, the standard smooth cylindrical screw-down pusher takes over. Both lock into the case via a threaded tube with a rubber gasket; both unscrew counter-clockwise to operate the chronograph and screw back down to seal the case. A 6240 found with smooth pushers in the earliest serial band has either been serviced with later pushers or is misattributed.
The pushers appear in two broad forms. Early documented watches use the vertically grooved Millerighe pusher; later examples use the smooth cylindrical screw-down pusher. The transition is useful when comparing a watch with its serial and movement, but the surviving record does not provide a factory cutoff. A mismatch can reflect service work, a replaced case part, or misattribution.


The bezel insert is acrylic with an engraved tachymeter scale running 60 to 400 units per hour, painted white over a black background. This is the visual signature that separates the 6240 from the 6239 (engraved metal bezel, no insert) and aligns it with the 6241, the two acrylic-bezel branches of the period. The 6262 (1970 to 1971) returned briefly to the engraved metal bezel of the 6239 before the 6263 settled the line on the acrylic insert for good. The 6240's acrylic bezels are prone to cracking, fading, and edge-chipping, and a clean original bezel insert on a 6240 is a meaningful condition item.
The bezel uses a black acrylic insert with a printed tachymeter scale. That separates the 6240 from the engraved metal bezel of the 6239 and 6262, while placing it alongside the 6241 and later 6263. Acrylic can crack, fade, or chip, so originality and condition have to be assessed on the individual watch.


Crystal is acrylic, period-standard. Crown is Twinlock screw-down with the period-correct Oyster signature, the same crown architecture as the contemporary Submariner and GMT-Master.
Crystal is acrylic, period-standard. Crown is Twinlock screw-down with the period-correct Oyster signature, the same crown architecture as the contemporary Submariner and GMT-Master.
Line 125: Line 125:
== Bracelets, end links, and clasps ==
== Bracelets, end links, and clasps ==


The 6240 was delivered on the 7205 Oyster rivet bracelet through most of its production. The 7205 is the 19mm rivet bracelet specifically for the Daytona / Air-King / Precision case lugs of the period; it pairs with end-link 271, identifiable by the "271" stamp on the underside. The folded-link 7835 successor, also paired with end-link 271, took over from approximately 1969, at the very end of the 6240's run, and carried into the 6262 / 6263 / 6264 / 6265 generation that followed. Some late 6240 examples may have shipped on 7835 from new; documentation is too thin to call this a clean transition.
Auction records document 7205 and 6635 Oyster bracelets on 6240 watches. End-link stamps include the 71/271 family in surviving examples, but a bracelet or end link proves fitment more readily than original delivery. The often-repeated 7835 late-run assignment needs example-level documentation; there is no clean published transition for the reference.


Both bracelets used the small-logo folding clasp generation that ran from 1958 to roughly 1969. The clasp is signed inside the blade with a quarterly date code in the pre-1976 format: Roman numeral quarter plus two-digit year, e.g. "II.66" for the second quarter of 1966. The clasp dates the bracelet, not the watch head; period-correct clasps carry codes within or close to the watch's serial-derived production year.
Both bracelets used the small-logo folding clasp generation that ran from 1958 to roughly 1969. The clasp is signed inside the blade with a quarterly date code in the pre-1976 format: Roman numeral quarter plus two-digit year, e.g. "II.66" for the second quarter of 1966. The clasp dates the bracelet, not the watch head; period-correct clasps carry codes within or close to the watch's serial-derived production year.
The US-market alternative bracelet was a Connecticut-made hollow-rivet 19mm with unmarked end-pieces, lighter gauge than the Swiss 7205, sold by US Rolex agents from 1959 to 1979. These are not Rolex-stamped and are a known collector lead but not original-equipment.


<span id="special-branches"></span>
<span id="special-branches"></span>
Line 143: Line 141:
=== The "Neanderthal" 6240 ===
=== The "Neanderthal" 6240 ===


The most contested 6240 is case 1439122, the Neanderthal. Phillips sold it as the earliest Paul Newman prototype, and Jose Pereztroika at Perezcope later argued the dial was a much later construction. The dispute is now central to any serious 6240 discussion.
The disputed 6240 is case 1439122, the Neanderthal. Phillips sold it as the earliest Paul Newman prototype; Jose Pereztroika at Perezcope later argued that the dial was a much later construction. Both positions remain part of the published record.


Perezcope's 2022 dossier is the strongest challenge to the old attribution. The dossier identifies the famous dial as a later construction rather than an early factory prototype, citing the same dial previously photographed in another watch and a set of typography, tritium-text, minute-track-color, and Singer-stamp details that align with later Paul Newman production rather than the earliest 6240 story. The watch retains its market position, but the early-prototype explanation is no longer the default reading.
Perezcope's 2022 dossier argues for a later construction, citing a dial photographed in another watch and differences in typography, tritium text, minute-track color, and Singer stamp. Phillips's catalogue presents the dial as an early prototype. Those sources disagree about the dial; neither one substitutes for an independent examination of the watch.


Perezcope reached out to Aurel Bacs and Pucci Papaleo with the findings; no public correction or buyer notification has been issued by either party as of the dossier's publication. The dispute remains live: Phillips's lot essay and Pucci Papaleo's published taxonomy treat the Neanderthal as the earliest Paul Newman 6240, and Perezcope's documented analysis treats the dial as a later swap onto an early case. The case-and-movement period-correctness of 1439122 is not contested; the dispute is dial-only.
Phillips's lot essay and Pucci Papaleo's auction treatment support the prototype reading. Perezcope reads the dial as a later swap onto an early case. The published dispute is about the dial; this page does not independently authenticate the case or movement.


<span id="solo-dials"></span>
<span id="solo-dials"></span>
Line 157: Line 155:
=== JPS-style configurations ===
=== JPS-style configurations ===


The John Player Special (JPS) black-and-gold dial colourway is most strongly associated with the 14k yellow gold 6241 (the pump-pusher Oyster-bezel sibling), where Revolution's bench-side examination documents fewer than 400 produced for the North American market. JPS-aligned configurations on the 6240 — a screw-down pusher Daytona with the JPS palette — are not part of the canonical Pucci Papaleo / Phillips taxonomy and surface only as one-off attributions; treat any 6240 marketed as JPS as requiring case, dial, and pusher provenance verification before relying on the attribution.
The JPS black-and-gold colourway is associated mainly with the 14k yellow-gold 6241, the pump-pusher sibling. A 6240 marketed as JPS falls outside the usual Pucci Papaleo and Phillips 6240 classifications, so its case, dial, pushers, and provenance need to be checked together.


<span id="tropical-examples"></span>
<span id="tropical-examples"></span>
=== Tropical examples ===
=== Tropical examples ===


Tropical 6240 dials, black dials that have aged to brown or chocolate, exist but turn up less often than tropical 6263 / 6265 examples because the underlying production was smaller. The browning is the same lacquer-instability mechanism documented on other 1960s Rolex dials. The black pigment was unstable in the lacquer mix, and light, heat, and humidity drove the colour change over decades. Tropical examples carry significant premium when the case, movement, and pushers are all period-correct.
Tropical 6240 dials, in which a black surface has aged toward brown, are reported but less common than comparable 6263 and 6265 examples. Color change alone does not establish originality; dial printing, surface condition, case, movement, and service history still need to agree.


<span id="historical-market-and-auction-record"></span>
<span id="historical-market-and-auction-record"></span>
== Historical market and auction record ==
== Historical market and auction record ==


The 6240 sits in the highest tier of vintage Daytona prices. The screw-down-pusher and acrylic-bezel combination is rare on its own, and the 2018 Neanderthal sale at Phillips lifted the rest of the reference along with it.
The 2018 Phillips sale of the Neanderthal is the best-known public auction record for the reference. Other 6240 results are difficult to compare because dial originality, Millerighe pushers, case condition, and bracelets vary widely.


Standard Cosmograph-dialled 6240s in good condition trade well below the Paul Newman tier but well above contemporary 6239s with comparable dials, reflecting the smaller production population and the Oyster-format premium. Mk0 Millerighe-pusher first-batch examples carry an additional premium where the pushers are documented as period-original. As with the rest of the manual-wind Daytona corpus, condition of the acrylic bezel insert, originality of the dial and pushers, and the presence of period-correct bracelet and clasp drive the spread between the high and low examples by an order of magnitude or more.
For any comparison, separate standard dials, exotic dials, and disputed configurations. Millerighe pushers, an original bezel, an unaltered dial, and a period-correct bracelet can affect a result, but auction evidence is too thin to turn those features into a fixed price rule.


== Related references ==
== Related references ==


* [[Reference:6241|Daytona 6241]] — "John Player Special", 14k Gold (1966–1969)
* [[Reference:6241|Daytona 6241]], "John Player Special", 14k gold (1966–1969)
* [[Reference:6262|Daytona 6262]] — Pump-Pusher Daytona (1970–1972)
* [[Reference:6262|Daytona 6262]], pump-pusher Daytona (1970–1972)
* [[Reference:6264|Daytona 6264]] — Paul Newman Dials (1970–1972)
* [[Reference:6264|Daytona 6264]], Paul Newman dials (1970–1972)
* [[Reference:6234|Daytona 6234]] — Pre-Daytona (1955–1961)
* [[Reference:6234|Daytona 6234]], pre-Daytona (1955–1961)
* [[Reference:6263|Daytona 6263]] — Paul Newman, Big Red & RCO Dials (1969–1988)
* [[Reference:6263|Daytona 6263]], Paul Newman, Big Red, and RCO dials (1969–1988)
* [[Reference:6265|Daytona 6265]] — Screw-Pusher Oyster (1971–1988)
* [[Reference:6265|Daytona 6265]], screw-pusher Oyster (1971–1988)


See also the [[Reference:daytona|Daytona family index]], [[Reference:Movements|movement reference]], [[Reference:Bracelets|bracelet & clasp guide]], and [[Reference:Serial-numbers|serial numbers by year]].
See also the [[Reference:daytona|Daytona family index]], [[Reference:Movements|movement reference]], [[Reference:Bracelets|bracelet & clasp guide]], and [[Reference:Serial-numbers|serial numbers by year]].
<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
File:Ref 6240 hero.webp|Rolex Cosmograph Daytona Ref. 6240
File:Ref 6240 neanderthal-orologi-market-1998.webp|Orologi & Market 1998 Neanderthal reference
File:Ref 6240 neanderthal-singer-comparison.webp|Singer dial-stamp comparison
File:Ref 6240 neanderthal-phillips-lot.webp|Phillips Daytona Ultimatum 2018 lot
</gallery>


== Sources ==
== Sources ==
Retrieved from "https://rolexopedia.net/wiki/Reference:6240"