Rolex
Turn-O-Graph 'Exclamation Dial', Reference 6202 | A stainless steel wristwatch with gilt dial | Circa 1953
Lot closes
May 13, 02:18 PM GMT
Estimate
9,000 - 14,000 CHF
Starting Bid
7,000 CHF
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Read more.Lot Details
Description
Dial: gilt, black, exclamation dial
Calibre: automatic, 19 jewels
Case: stainless steel, screw-down case back
Case number: 950'358
Closure: stainless steel Rolex buckle
Size: 36 mm diameter
Signed: case, dial, and movement
Box: no
Papers: no
Accessories: none
Antiquorum, Geneva, November 2023, Lot 202
Property of a Swiss Gentleman
Ref. 6202 was released and first presented at the Basel Fair in 1953. The Turn-O-Graph was the first series-produced Rolex to feature a rotating bezel. Rolex often promoted this first series tool watch as a convenient and simple way of calculating the "timing of a transatlantic telephone call, the rate of a machine, a patient's pulse or the speed of a train." In the late 1950s, the Turn-O-Graph was popularly marketed as "Thunderbirds" because the U.S. Air Force equipped their Thunderbird aerobatic squadron pilots with Ref. 6202 for navigational calculations.
The model was soon discountinued as it was seen as rather redundant when compared with the timing and diving abilities of the Submariner and the GMT-Master, making surviving examples sought-after by collectors.