MK Personal Collection Very Rare Peruvian Air Force Rolex Oyster Chronograph Ref 6238 Circa 1966

MK Personal Collection The present lot is part of a larger privately held collection and is intended for exhibition purposes only. Very Rare "So Called" Pre Daytona Rolex Oyster Chronograph Wristwatch Ref 6238 Circa 1966. This is a very rare "Pre Daytona" Rolex Oyster Chronograph, Ref 6238, wristwatch, circa 1966. This is a water resistant stainless steel gentlemen's wristwatch with round button chronograph, registers and tachometer. The case is three body, polished and brushed, screwed down case back and crown (Serial #1.102.430, It is interesting to note that the last 3 case numbers between the lugs are also engraved inside the case back.), The watch is topped with a satine silver dial with applied steel baton indexes and tritium coated dots, subsidiary "guilloche" dials for the seconds, the 12-hour and 30-minute registers, tritium coated steel "baton" hands. Cal 72B rhodium plated, 17 jewels, straight line lever escapement, monometallic balance, shock absorber, self compensating Brequet balance spring, microstella regulating screws. The dial, case and movement are signed. Produced from approximately 1960 to 1967, the Rolex reference 6238 is a perfect embodiment of the timeless chronograph. Referred to as the “Pre-Daytona” by collectors, the reference 6238 shares similar case size, pushers and baton hands as its contemporary, the first Cosmograph Daytona reference 6239. While the Cosmograph Daytona always features a two tone dial with either black with silver sub dials or vice versa, the reference 6238 was offered only with a monochromatic dial. Marking the end of an era, the 6238 was also the last Rolex chronograph to feature a smooth bezel and a graduated tachymeter scale printed on the dial. Rolex’s later Daytona models would all display the scale on the bezel. The present example Rolex “Pre-Daytona” ref. 6238 features a well-preserved silver dial with the cal. 72B making it one of the last examples before it was transitioned to the cal. 722 featured also in the ref. 6239. With a “T SWISS T” designation at 6 O’clock, the present second-generation dial indicates the use of tritium for the luminous material applied on the hands and indexes.