A stainless steel chronograph wristwatch with registers, tachometer and bracelet, Rolex, Cosmograph, 'Daytona', Ref. 6239, Circa 1966

nickel lever movement, 17 jewels, monometallic compensation balance, silvered matte dial, applied square and luminescent indexes to the outer black chapter ring with red seconds track, three engine-turned black subsidiary dials indicating constant seconds, 30 minute and 12 hour registers, tonneau water-resistant-type case with two round chronograph pushers in the band, bezel engraved and calibrated for 200 units, screw back and screw-down crown, case, dial and movement signed, with stainless steel Rolex Oyster bracelet and deployant clasp.

This watch is very unusual in that it comes with much of its original paperwork and accompaniments. It has its original Rolex Guarantee with handwritten case number and purchase date of 4th March, 1972 from The Ginza, Freeport, Bahamas. Also accompanied by a Rolex green leather folder, Cosmograph instructions booklet, green fitted presentation box and white outer packaging with a factory sticker for Ref. 6239.

Beginning in the late 1960s, Rolex offered special dials, known as ‘exotic’ dials, on their Cosmograph Daytona models. Years later, watches with these dials became known as ‘Paul Newman’ models, because the actor is presumed to have worn one such watch in the 1969 racing film ‘Winning’.

The ‘Paul Newman’ dial is characterized by square markers in the chronograph scale and subsidiary dials and the alternating patterning of the coloration. Though widely available at the time, theses dials were produced in smaller numbers and are more rare to find on watches today.

For a similar example of this model, Ref. 6239, see Skeet & Urul, Vintage Rolex Sports Models, p. 112.