Rolex 6240 Daytona

A checked version of this page, approved on 8 October 2026, was based on this revision.

Daytona → 6240

Steel Rolex 6240 Neanderthal lot; the dial attribution is disputed — Steel 6240 from the Phillips Neanderthal lot; dial attribution disputed

The 6240 is a steel, manual-wind Cosmograph Daytona catalogued from about 1965 to 1969. It introduced screw-down chronograph pushers to the Daytona line and used a black acrylic tachymeter insert. Auction catalogues identify Cal. 72B, 722, and 722-1 in individual watches; they do not establish a clean changeover sequence.

Christie’s calls the 6240 the first “Oyster Cosmograph” and describes early dials without “Oyster,” followed by later Oyster-marked examples. A 2026 auction catalogue also attributes an unnumbered 1964 prototype to the reference. That watch belongs in the development record, separate from serial-numbered production examples.

Core facts

detail	value
reference	6240
model	Rolex Cosmograph Daytona, manual-wind
production	Auction descriptions place serial-numbered examples around 1965–1969; an unnumbered prototype is catalogued to 1964
case material	Stainless steel in the reviewed catalogues
case diameter	Individual catalogues give 37 mm or 37.5 mm
movement	Auction labels include Valjoux-family 72B, 722, and 722-1; inspect the movement in each watch
pushers	Screw-down chronograph pushers
bezel	Black acrylic tachymeter insert
crown	Screw-down; Phillips describes a Twinlock 700-series crown on its Neanderthal lot
water resistance	Monochrome reports 100 m for the design; this does not establish the condition of a surviving watch
dial	Early non-Oyster and later Oyster-marked dials, plus Solo and exotic examples
bracelet examples	Phillips records a 7205/71 combination and a separate 6635/57 combination; neither proves original delivery
sibling	6241, with pump pushers and an acrylic tachymeter insert
later Oyster references	6263 and 6265

Where it sits in the line

The 6239 used pump pushers and an engraved metal tachymeter bezel. The 6240 paired screw-down pushers with a black acrylic insert. Its sibling, the 6241, kept pump pushers with an acrylic insert. The later 6262 and 6264 returned to pump pushers, while the 6263 and 6265 carried the screw-down Oyster case into a longer production run. Published dates around the 1969–1971 transition vary by source.

The Swiss patent application for Rolex’s waterproof push button has an 11 June 1964 priority date. That filing dates the patented mechanism; it does not date a particular watch. The patent record is separate from the 1964 prototype reported by Monaco Legend below.

Production outline

Christie’s dates the 6240 to 1965–1969 and estimates about 1,700 examples. That is an auction-house estimate, not a factory count. Phillips and Sotheby’s date individual serial-numbered watches to 1965 or 1966. Their case numbers and catalogue dates are useful examples, not a serial-year chart.

The early pusher distinction is visible in the catalogues. Christie’s describes fine grooves on an early example as “mille righe” and contrasts them with deeper grooves on later pushers. Phillips also labels its 1965 lot as an early Millerighe example. The records do not set a serial-number cutoff, and a pusher on a surviving watch may have been replaced.

Monaco Legend’s 2026 catalogue describes an unnumbered prototype attributed to ref. 6240, with an internal Rolex technical transmission sheet dated 5 March 1964. The catalogue lists Cal. 722-1 and a 37 mm case. Keep this prototype apart from the serial-numbered watches: the sale record documents the auction house’s attribution and reported paperwork, not a commercial production date.

Movement notes

Auction catalogues identify Cal. 72B, 722, and 722-1 in individual 6240s; some also list 17 jewels. The movement guide gives the family’s rate as 18,000 vph. Christie’s records Cal. 722 in two circa-1965 examples; Phillips records 72B in the 1966 “Oyster Alpina” and the Neanderthal lot; Sotheby’s catalogues a circa-1965 example with 722-1. The catalogue dates and movement labels do not form a reliable transition chronology. Read the engraving on the watch itself.

Christie’s describes a 722 marked “ROW” on one example and identifies it as a US-market import code. The movement guide records other readings of ROW and notes that Rolex documentation has not settled its meaning. Treat the stamp as a lot-level observation.

Dial map

Auction records show more than one inscription layout. Christie’s and Sotheby’s describe early examples without “Oyster”; Christie’s contrasts them with later dials carrying the Oyster designation. This is a sequence reported by auction catalogues, not a complete production chronology.

Exotic or “Paul Newman” dials are documented on 6240 watches. Christie’s catalogues a black exotic dial on case 1,659,454, dated circa 1967. The reviewed records do not establish the share of 6240s fitted with exotic dials or a serial number at which they began.

Christie’s uses “Solo” for the dial on case 1,205,996, catalogued circa 1966 with Cal. 72B. The term describes that lot’s sparse Rolex-only dial. The catalogue does not establish a separate factory reference or a production count for Solo dials.

The Neanderthal, case 1,439,122, has a black-and-white dial with unusually large subsidiary registers. Phillips presents it as a pre-Paul Newman prototype. Perezcope’s 2022 analysis argues that the dial is a later transfer, citing an April 1998 magazine photograph that appears to show the dial in another watch and differences in its printing. The attribution remains disputed.

Phillips Daytona Ultimatum lot 32, catalogued as the Neanderthal
Singer stamp comparison used in the published dial analysis
April 1998 Orologi & Market photograph cited in the Neanderthal dial dispute

Case, bezel, crystal, and crown

The auction records reviewed here give case diameters of 37 mm and 37.5 mm. They describe a stainless-steel Oyster case, screw-down chronograph pushers, a screw-down crown, and a black acrylic tachymeter insert. Some retrospective histories report a 100 m rating for the design; a vintage watch needs its own inspection and pressure test before anyone treats it as water-resistant.

Christie’s describes fine-grooved early pushers and contrasts them with deeper grooves on later examples. Phillips notes that the plating on its Neanderthal lot’s brass pushers had worn through. These observations help identify the photographed lots; they do not prove a factory cutoff or the originality of pushers on another watch.

The reviewed catalogues do not specify the crystal material for each example. The photographs show the visible surface, not whether a particular crystal is original or a later service replacement.

Bracelets, end links, and clasps

Phillips records a 1966 “Oyster Alpina” on a riveted 7205 bracelet with 71 end links and a clasp stamped 4.66. Its Neanderthal lot is catalogued with a 6635 bracelet, 57 end links, and a clasp stamped 4.65. Sotheby’s describes a Jubilee bracelet on its 2012 example but does not give a bracelet reference in the listing.

These are auction-described combinations, not proof of original delivery or a complete fitment list. A clasp stamp dates the clasp, not the watch head. The broader bracelet guide covers the limits of using a clasp code to date a watch.

Auction record

The records below describe individual watches. Christie’s estimates about 1,700 examples for the reference; the catalogues do not provide a Rolex production ledger.

Sale record	Catalogue date and number	What the catalogue records
Christie’s, lot 5808817	circa 1965; case 1,298,415	Cal. 722, black matte dial, 37.5 mm case, fine-grooved “mille righe” pushers.
Christie’s, lot 6212858	circa 1965; case 1,298,267	Cal. 722 stamped ROW, 17 jewels, 37 mm case; Christie’s identifies ROW as a US-market import code.
Phillips, Geneva Watch Auction XIV, lot 234	1965; case 1,269,446	Cal. 722, 37.5 mm case, Millerighe pushers, riveted expandable Oyster bracelet and C+I clasp stamped 7-67. Sold for CHF 107,100.
Sotheby’s, Important Watches 2012, lot 258	circa 1965; case 1,439,224	Cal. 722-1, 37 mm case, early non-Oyster dial; Sotheby’s condition report describes a Jubilee bracelet.
Phillips, Start-Stop-Reset, lot 10	1966; case 1,438,971	Cal. 72B, “Oyster Alpina” dial, 7205/71 bracelet and clasp stamped 4.66.
Christie’s, lot 6269161	circa 1966; case 1,205,996	Cal. 72B; Christie’s describes the sparse dial as “Solo.”
Phillips, Daytona Ultimatum 2018, lot 32	circa 1966; case 1,439,122	Cal. 72B, 6635/57 bracelet, clasp 4.65; dial attribution disputed. Sold for CHF 3,012,500.
Christie’s, lot 6424494	circa 1967; case 1,659,454	Black Paul Newman dial; the catalogue records a 37.5 mm case and an Oyster bracelet with clasp stamped 4.67.
Monaco Legend, Exclusive Timepieces 38, lot 229	1964 prototype; no commercial serial	Auction catalogue reports a Rolex technical transmission sheet dated 5 March 1964, Cal. 722-1 and 37 mm case. Sold for €125,000.

Related references

Daytona 6239, pump pushers and engraved metal bezel
Daytona 6241, pump pushers and acrylic bezel insert
Daytona 6262 and Daytona 6264, later pump-pusher references
Daytona 6263 and Daytona 6265, later screw-down-pusher references
Daytona family index, movement guide, serial-number guide

Gallery

Neanderthal lot, with disputed dial attribution
Phillips Daytona Ultimatum lot 32
Singer stamp comparison
Orologi & Market 1998 photograph cited in the dial dispute