Passions Watch Exchange

About This Watch

Vintage. Comes with orig. period box+outer box in mint condition but no papers.

This is a highly coveted pre-Daytona chronograph by Rolex, a star among vintages of that era & a blue chip investment grade watch. It is 100% authentic with an original dial that has aged gracefully with some blemishes but all prints are in perfect order & untouched. The case is in splendid condition & not over polished with good lugs while it is also rust free. The movement is a correct Valjoux Calibre 72 column wheel chronograph with all the correct features & properly signed. The movement has just been overhauled in Aug 2021 & shines as new. The heavy Oyster bracelet is a late addition and an upgrade from Rolex USA when the last owner sent it for servicing many years ago and is a correct spec bearing 571/78350 for Daytona as it has a higher flush-fit to match the thicker case over regular 19mm Oysters.

The Ref.6234 was the first chronograph to feature a 3pc case that offers a better water resistant design that is still in use today. It carried over the "Oyster Chronograph" on the dial from it's predecessor Ref.6034. This was a time before Cosmograph and Daytona while the Oyster word was dropped on later models and not repeated again until early 1970s when the Ref.6263/5 were introduced with locking pusher & crown.

Our Ref.6234 here is a very interesting watch. This model was introduced in 1954 and produced till 1961 so our watch here is a very late & possibly last production batch bearing a 1.2 million serial numbers dating to 1965 when the Ref.6239 "small" Daytona was already introduced in 1963 and there's a Ref.6238 between them in the 1960s. It is not uncommon for old Rolex models to overlap in production back then as many examples in history have shown but the 6234 appears to be the last to use radium as Rolex transitioned into tritium from Ref.6238 onwards.

Now, take a look at the 3 o'clock 30mins counter and you can find three longer markers @ 3minute intervals & these were used to time international telephone calls where every 3 minutes requires a new dime! It takes about 20 winds to full power reserve.

This Ref.6234 Oyster Chronograph is in fabulous condition for it's age & the movement has just been overhauled. It will find a place among the connoisseurs. An opportunity rarely to be repeated again & very reasonably priced for it's condition. It is estimated that only 2000 pieces were made and prices for vintage Rolex chronographs continue to rise in 2021 as supply runs dry.

Further 3% discount for cash payment.