Rolex 6202 Turn-O-Graph

Turn-O-Graph → 6202

Black-dial Rolex Turn-O-Graph ref. 6202 with a Monometer dial and graduated bezel — Antiquorum Geneva, lot 201; case 949579.

Rolex catalogues identify ref. 6202 as the early Turn-O-Graph, with examples dated to 1953 and 1954. It pairs a self-winding Oyster with a rotating timing bezel; surviving watches carry both Turn-O-Graph and Monometer dial inscriptions.

Core facts

Detail	Record
Reference	6202
Model name	Auction catalogues use both Turn-O-Graph and Monometer for ref. 6202; Monometer appears on black dials in separate examples
Movement	Most reviewed exact-reference catalogues list A260 / 19 jewels. One Antiquorum lot lists A296 / 17 jewels, another lists A296 without a jewel count, and Monaco Legend lists Cal. 645; the reviewed photographs do not show movement markings clearly.
Case material	Catalogues describe stainless-steel and separate steel-and-yellow-gold examples
Case diameter	Catalogues measure individual examples from 34.5 to 36.5 mm; a factory dimension is not established
Bezel	Rotating elapsed-time bezel; catalogues describe black graduated inserts, raised Arabic numerals, and a gold bezel on a steel-and-gold example
Dated examples	Inner casebacks marked III.53, IV.53, I.54, and IV.54, dating individual cases

Where it sits in the line

Phillips describes the 6202 as Rolex’s first widely distributed rotating-bezel reference. Its 2016 catalogue for the earlier 3346 Zerographe also records a rotating bezel. The 6202 and Submariner 6204 appear in catalogues from the same period; their design sequence remains unclear. Phillips, ref. 3346

Production outline

The caseback stamps in the reviewed catalogues run from III.53 to IV.54. Phillips lot 118 records III.53; Christie's records IV.53; Phillips lots 954, 134, and 18 report I.54; Aste Bolaffi lot 259 reports IV.54. Antiquorum records a warranty sale in August 1955. Together, these records date individual cases and a 1955 sale. They leave the factory production span open.

Rolex Magazine reproduces a page identified as a 1957 Rolex master catalogue. A diagonal “NO LONGER AVAILABLE” mark crosses the 6202 illustration, though the scan gives no author or date for the mark. It cannot date the end of production. An Antiquorum entry estimates one 6202 at circa 1963; its listing has no movement or caseback photograph. That estimate sits apart from the dated-case examples.

Movement notes

Phillips, Christie's, Antiquorum, and Aste Bolaffi most often list A260 with 19 jewels. Antiquorum's 2002 lot 13 describes a 19-jewel, 9¾-line movement but leaves its caliber unnamed. Antiquorum lists A296 / 17 jewels in its 2025 lot 679; its 2021 lot 297 names A296 but gives no jewel count; Monaco Legend lists Cal. 645 for a steel-and-gold example. The catalogue labels conflict, and the available photographs leave the movement markings unreadable. Keep each attribution with its lot.

Dial map

Auction and specialist records describe several separate dial configurations:

Catalogue description	Recorded features	Record and limit
Black, gilt “Monometer”	MONOMETER and OFFICIALLY CERTIFIED CHRONOMETER text; circular, triangular, and rectangular markers	Phillips lot 118; its photos show the dial, not the movement or inner caseback
Black “Monometer” with split Oyster Perpetual text	Antiquorum describes triangular, round, and baton luminous indexes with gilt baton hands	Antiquorum lot 493, case 949401; front view only
Black, gilt “Turn-O-Graph”	TURN-O-GRAPH text	Phillips lot 134; the inside back is photographed and marked 6202 / I.54
Black hobnail or textured dial	Christie's describes a black hobnail dial with white quarter batons, hour dots, and luminous hands; another Christie's lot calls its dark dial waffle, and Phillips lot 18 calls its dial honeycomb	Christie's case 953839, Christie's, and Phillips lot 18; catalogue terms may describe different surfaces
Silver or cream honeycomb	“SWISS” at six, on case 949906 marked IV.53	Antiquorum lot 104 includes photographs; Accademia Fine Art lists the same case
White Explorer-style Arabic dial	3, 6, 9, and 12 numerals with OFFICIALLY CERTIFIED CHRONOMETER text; catalogued in a steel-and-gold case	Christie's case 953'729; the catalogue describes one watch
Light dial with applied markers	“Officially Certified Chronometer” text, catalogued on a steel-and-gold watch	Monaco Legend lot 107; a single catalogue example
Black guilloché	White-gold triangular markers and yellow-gold Dauphine hands, as catalogued	Antiquorum 2002, lot 13; its movement is listed as Cal. 9¾-line / 19 jewels

These are catalogue descriptions of individual watches. The records do not establish which dials Rolex offered or in what order.

Rolex Magazine reproduces 1953 trademark filings for “Mono-Meter” and “Turn-O-Graph.” The filings register both names in 1953; they do not record the order in which the inscriptions appeared on dials.

Phillips lot 118; black dial printed MONOMETER
Close-up of the same Phillips lot 118 watch
Phillips lot 134, case 953'379; separate black dial printed TURN-O-GRAPH
Antiquorum lot 104, case 949906; silver honeycomb dial
Monaco Legend lot 107, case 953749; steel-and-gold case and light dial

Case, bezel, and crown

Christie's describes the steel case with a screw-down crown and caseback. Steel examples show a rotating minute bezel with a graduated black insert and red triangle. Phillips identifies a later insert on one watch. Christie's case 953'839 has a bezel with raised Arabic numerals on an engraved ground; case 953'729 is catalogued with a similar numbered bezel and chased marks between five-minute intervals. Monaco Legend describes a separate two-tone case with a gold bezel. The catalogues show these bezel forms on separate watches, with no dated sequence.

Inside caseback marked 6202 and I.54 — Phillips, New York Watch Auction XII, lot 134; case 953'379.

Hand configurations

Catalogues describe Mercedes hands on one 1954 steel example, yellow-gold Dauphine hands on Antiquorum's 2002 lot, and luminous hands without a named shape on Christie's steel-and-gold case 953839. These descriptions concern separate watches; a dated hand sequence remains unclear.

Bracelets, clasps, and packaging

Published lots show riveted Oyster, stretch Oyster, and Jubilee bracelets on separate examples. The Phillips 2019 catalogue calls its bracelet a later replacement. Phillips 2025 lists a riveted stretch Oyster with end links 58 and clasp stamp 4.61; Bonhams lists bracelet 6636; Christie's records a bracelet with end links 55. These are sale configurations; they do not prove original delivery across the reference. The 4.61 clasp code dates that clasp, not the watch head.

Special branches

Phillips lot 18's January 1957 guarantee carries a handwritten “Navy 3923 Ships Store Yokosuka” notation. It records an inscription on one watch's guarantee; the catalogue does not establish military issue or a Navy contract.

Historical auction record

Catalogue record	Details reported
Phillips, New York, lot 118	6202 “Turn-O-Graph Monometer”; inner caseback III.53; stainless steel; A260 / 19 jewels in the catalogue; 35 mm
Christie's, case 950'661	Inner caseback IV.53; black textured dial; A260 / 19 jewels in the catalogue; 34.5 mm
Antiquorum Monaco, lot 104 / Accademia Fine Art, lot 104, case 949906	IV.53 inner back; silver/cream honeycomb dial with SWISS at six; A260 / 19 jewels; 35 mm; Antiquorum also lists bracelet 7206/80 and provides dial photographs
Phillips, case 952'389	Inner caseback I.54; A260 / 19 jewels in the catalogue; the catalogue identifies the bezel insert and bracelet as later replacements
Phillips, Geneva, lot 18, case 952'376	Inner caseback I.54; honeycomb dial; A260 / 19 jewels; 35.5 mm; guarantee dated January 1957 with a handwritten Navy 3923 Ships Store Yokosuka notation
Phillips Geneva, lot 226 / Phillips New York, lot 134	Both catalogue entries report case 953'379 and movement no. 218. The 2016 entry lists A260 / 19 jewels, 35 mm and clasp 4.67; the 2025 entry lists A260 / 19 jewels, 36.5 mm, end links 58 and clasp 4.61. The reason for the measurement and clasp differences is unreported.
Antiquorum Geneva, lot 493, case 949401	1953 Monometer; black dial; A260 / 19 jewels; luminous triangular, round and baton indexes; gilt baton hands
Antiquorum Geneva, lot 201, case 949579	1953 Monometer; A260 / 19 jewels; 36 mm; black dial and graduated bezel shown in four catalogue photographs
Aste Bolaffi, lot 259, case 950629	Inner caseback IV.54; black gilt dial; A260 No. 06019; riveted expandable Oyster bracelet with end links 65; 36 mm
Christie's, case 953'729	Steel and gold; white Explorer-style 3-6-9-12 dial with OFFICIALLY CERTIFIED CHRONOMETER text; raised-numeral rotating bezel
Christie's, case 953839	Steel and gold; black hobnail dial, white quarter batons, hour dots, raised Arabic bezel numerals; nickel 18-jewel movement, caliber not named
Antiquorum, lot 13	36 mm steel case; black guilloché dial, Dauphine hands, and a 19-jewel 9¾-line movement attribution
Monaco Legend, case 953749	Steel and yellow gold; light dial with applied markers and chronometer text; catalogue lists Cal. 645
Antiquorum, case 951425	Catalogued as 1954; an original warranty is reported to record a sale in August 1955

Gallery

Antiquorum Geneva lot 201, case 949579; black Monometer dial
Phillips lot 118; separate black Monometer dial example
Dial close-up of the Phillips lot 118 example
Phillips lot 134; inside back marked 6202 and I.54
Phillips lot 134; separate black TURN-O-GRAPH dial example
Antiquorum lot 104, case 949906; silver honeycomb dial
Monaco Legend lot 107, case 953749; steel-and-gold case and light dial

Sources