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Rolex 6239 Daytona

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Daytona › 6239

Rolex Cosmograph Daytona ref. 6239, Mark 1 Double Swiss Underline dial with tropical sub-dials
Rolex Cosmograph Daytona ref. 6239, Mark 1 Double Swiss Underline dial with tropical sub-dials

The 6239 is the first Cosmograph reference. It moves the tachymeter scale from the dial to an engraved steel bezel and introduces contrasting sub-dials to this Rolex chronograph line. Production is generally dated 1963–69, overlapping the late pump-pusher 6238 and preceding the screw-pusher 6240. Phillips gives an estimated total of about 14,000 watches, including approximately 300 in 18k yellow gold.

Core facts

Field Value
Reference 6239
Family Daytona (Cosmograph)
Production 1963–69 in the main reference sources; a small group of unsold gold cases is dated 1970 in one catalogue
Total production about 14,000 total, including about 300 in 18k yellow gold (Phillips estimate)
Case 36mm stainless steel or 18k yellow gold; pump (non-screw) pushers; no crown guards
Movement cal 722 (1963 to ~1968), cal 722-1 on late examples
Beat rate 18,000 vph
Power reserve ~48 hours
Bracelets 7205 rivet (period of original delivery); 7835 folded link on late and service-fitted examples
End links 271
Crown 7mm Twinlock, signed Rolex coronet (no Oyster designation)
Crystal acrylic, flat
Bezel engraved stainless steel tachymetre (units per hour); graduation moves from 275 to 300 to 200 across the run
Lume early dial materials vary; the Mark 1 double-Swiss/underline configuration is associated with the early transition, while later dials use tritium markings
Significance first Cosmograph reference; first Rolex chronograph in this line with the tachymeter on the bezel; later examples include exotic dials

Where it sits in the line

The 6238 is the watch the 6239 replaces, though the overlap is wide enough that the two read as siblings as much as predecessor and successor. The break is real on the 6239 because the tachymeter moves to the bezel and the Daytona name eventually follows.

Production outline

Most sources date production to 1963–1969. Pucci Papaleo’s catalogue work includes some gold examples dated 1970.

Serial bands help place the broad sequence, but they do not form a complete factory chart. The early Mark 1 layout is followed by Daytona text in 1964; on later examples the text moves above the 6 o'clock sub-dial, and the bezel graduation changes from 300 to 200.

Early advertising used the name "Le Mans" before "Daytona" appeared in 1964. That naming history belongs to the launch period; later sales performance is outside the reference chronology.

Movement notes

Inside is the Valjoux 72 family: cal. 722 first, cal. 722-1 on late examples, with the next 6262 and 6264 generation carrying the transition onward.

The 18,000 vph rate held through the entire 6239 production. The frequency jump to 21,600 vph waited for caliber 727 in the 6262 and 6264 (1970 to 1971), the last manual-wind generation before screw-down pushers returned on the 6263 and 6265. The 6239 therefore sits inside a single beat-rate era, which makes the cal. 722 / 722-1 split useful for late-watch dating but not for any meaningful change in how the chronograph runs.

Dial map

Serial / year / dial / lume / bracelet

  • Mark 1 dial
    Mark 1 dial
  • Double Swiss underline dial
    Double Swiss underline dial
  • 6239 dial detail
    6239 dial detail
Serial range Year Dial Lume Bracelet End links Notes
<800,000 (Mk1 batch ~1963) 1963 Cosmograph, Double-Swiss Underline, matte cream white n/a 7205 271 Per Hodinkee Clymer 2013.
1.0M-1.6M (1964-1967) 1964-1967 Cosmograph + Daytona text, 300 bezel n/a 7205 271 Daytona text added to dial 1964; moved above 6 o'clock sub-dial in 1967.
1.6M-2.0M (1967-1969) 1967-1969 Cosmograph + Daytona at 6, 200 bezel n/a 7205 271 Bezel graduation changed to 200 in the late run.


Variant Years Distinguishing features Notable examples
Mark 1 "Double-Swiss Underline" 1963 only Matte cream-white dial; small silver hashmark (the "underline") under "Cosmograph"; lower second "Swiss" under the "Swiss" at 6; thin flat-headed running-seconds hand; longer hour and minute hands almost touching the markers; paired with the hashed 275 unit-per-hour bezel Clymer's Hodinkee 2013 Mk1 reference set; Goldberger archive examples
Mark 2 standard "Cosmograph" 1963 to 1964 Matte silver or matte black dial; "Cosmograph" only on the dial; single "Swiss" at 6; 300 bezel Documented in both silver and black
Mark 3 "Daytona at 12" 1964 to 1967 "Daytona" signature added in red, set under "Cosmograph" at 12; tritium lume; 300 unit-per-hour bezel The earliest dial with the Daytona signature on a Rolex chronograph
Mark 4 "Daytona at 6" 1967 to 1969 "Daytona" migrated above the 6 o'clock sub-dial in red; 200 unit-per-hour bezel; "T SWISS T" tritium designation The dial layout that carries forward into the 6263 and 6265
Paul Newman Mark 1 ~1966 to 1968 Exotic dial; art-deco numerals in the sub-dials; cross-hair register; contrasting peripheral seconds track in dial colour; square minute markers Phillips lot NY080117/8 — Paul Newman's personal example
Paul Newman Mark 2 ~1967 to 1969 Refined typography on the same exotic layout; minute track sits lower in the sub-dial colour band LeeRoy Yarbrough's black PN per Phillips lot NY080118/13
Paul Newman Mark 3 ~1968 to 1969 Latest of the 6239 PN series; minute track moves further into the sub-dial; "T SWISS T" rather than the earlier "SWISS" Late commercial production
18k yellow gold "Champagne" PN 1967 to 1969 Champagne dial on 18k yellow gold case; black sub-dials; same exotic typography as steel PN "The Golden Pagoda" — Phillips Daytona Ultimatum 2018, CHF 948,500
Retailer-signed (Tiffany, Beyer, Serpico y Laino) across the run Standard dial with retailer name added below the coronet Individual signed examples are documented
"Pulsations" doctor's dial late 1960s Standard 6239 case with green pulsations scale on the dial in place of the tachymetre context Christie's "Lesson One" 2013 — c.1967 Pulsations 6239, USD 838,090

Early Mark 1 watches are identified by a cluster of dial and bezel traits. The Paul Newman name is collector terminology for the exotic dial; its later market history should not be projected onto every 6239.

Case, bezel, crystal, and crown

The 6239 case is about 36mm in stainless steel or yellow gold, with no crown guards and pump pushers. The screw-down case and pushers belong to the later 6240. The crown is commonly described as a 7mm Twinlock signed with the Rolex coronet; the crystal is flat acrylic and the lugs measure about 19mm.

Its engraved tachymeter scale separates the 6239 from the 6238. The 275, 300, and 200 graduations are useful comparison points, but bezels can be replaced.

Bracelets, end links, and clasps

Three bracelet references span the 6239's production.

Bracelet Period of original delivery End link Clasp generation
7205 (Oyster rivet, 19mm) early and mid-run examples 271 period clasp variants documented
7835 (Oyster folded link, 19mm) later examples and service fitments 271 folded clasp
78350 (Oyster folded link, late variant) later service fitment reported 380 folded clasp

The examples in the source set show 7205/271 and 7835/271 combinations, with later service fitments also reported. A clasp code dates the bracelet, not the watch head. The end-link number should be read from the individual bracelet rather than inferred from an aggregator table.

Special branches

The Paul Newman dial is an important 6239 branch. Paul Newman’s personal watch sold at Phillips Winning Icons in 2017; that sale is a provenance record, not a benchmark for every exotic dial.

Phillips sold LeeRoy Yarbrough’s black-dial 6239 as lot NY080118/13 in 2018; the caseback carries his name and racing record. The 18k yellow-gold 6239 known as the "Golden Pagoda" sold at the same auction for CHF 948,500 and was later listed again with a CHF 500,000–1,000,000 estimate.

Retailer-signed dials are documented for Tiffany & Co., Beyer, and Serpico y Laino examples. The available records do not establish a complete census by dial mark.

Christie’s "Daytona Lesson One" sale in 2013 included a c.1969 watch catalogued as "Daytona 6263/6239 Paul Newman with screw-down pushers". It sold for USD 1,089,186. The catalogue treated it as an end-of-run hybrid, with a 6239 case reference and screw-down 6263-style case hardware.

Notable wearers and cultural footprint

Paul Newman wore the exotic-dial watch Joanne Woodward gave him during his racing years. Its 2017 sale and the dial’s Mk1–Mk4 progression are covered on Reference:paul-newman-daytona.

Paul Newman's 6239

Paul Newman wearing his exotic-dial 6239 in his race car, early 1970s. (Ron Galella / Getty)
Paul Newman wearing his exotic-dial 6239 in his race car, early 1970s. (Ron Galella / Getty)

Newman’s racing photographs show the watch on his wrist, and the Phillips lot included an engraved caseback and a family provenance letter. "Paul Newman" is collector shorthand for this exotic dial; it is not a Rolex model name.

  • Paul Newman portrait
    Paul Newman
  • Provenance letter documenting Newman's ownership
    Provenance letter documenting Newman's ownership
  • Paul Newman's 6239, the watch itself
    Paul Newman's 6239

Eric Clapton's 6239

Phillips catalogued Eric Clapton’s yellow-gold 6239 with a pulsations dial as the "Crazy Doc" and described it as possibly unique. Published photographs also show Clapton wearing a steel exotic-dial 6239. His white-dial 6263 is a separate watch; Phillips described four known examples when it sold for CHF 1,325,000 in 2015.

Published records identify Steve McQueen with a 5512 Submariner and a 1655 Explorer II. The watch often called the "McQueen Daytona" has no verified 6239 ownership record. Michael Schumacher’s Paul Newman Daytona is a ref. 6262, so neither attribution belongs on the 6239 page.

Historical market and auction record

The auction record includes several distinct provenance and configuration types.

Christie’s "Daytona Lesson One" in Geneva on 10 November 2013 included a pulsations 6239 that sold for USD 838,090 and the transitional 6263/6239 lot that sold for USD 1,089,186. The sale catalogue records the lot descriptions and prices; neither result is a general valuation for the reference.

Phillips Winning Icons (New York, 26 October 2017) sold Paul Newman's personal 6239 for USD 17,752,500 with premium, lot NY080117/8. It was the then-record for any wristwatch at auction.

At Phillips Daytona Ultimatum in Geneva on 12 May 2018, the 18k yellow-gold "Golden Pagoda" 6239 sold for CHF 948,500. Lot NY080118/13 was the black-dial Yarbrough example with its documented racing provenance.

The sale figures above are individual results. A dial’s originality, service history, condition, and provenance can change the result substantially; no fixed price multiplier or complete rarity ranking is established by these sales.

Related references

The 6239 inherits its case and Cal. 722 movement from the pre-Daytona chronograph line that runs from the late-1930s Antimagnetique through the 6238. It is the first reference to carry the Cosmograph Daytona name on the dial.

Sources

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