Rolex Retailed by Tiffany & Co.: Daytona 'Big Red', Reference...

Dial: silvered
Calibre: cal. 727 manual winding, 17 jewels
Case: stainless steel, screw-down case back
Case number: 6'608'119
Closure: stainless steel Rolex Oyster bracelet and folding clasp
Size: 37 mm diameter
Signed: case, dial and movement
Box: no
Papers: yes
Accessories: Rolex Certificate and numbered hang tag

Condition Report:
MVT: is running at the time of cataloguing. The chronograph is functioning.
CASE: is in good overall condition. It presents some scratches, as well as minute dents and dings. The case has been polished. The bracelet is in fairly good condition. It presents some scratches. It has been polished as the crown on the clasp appears mostly fadded. (bracelet ref. 78350 19, end link 571, clasp G)
DIAL: is in good condition. It presents some minute blemishes and luminous dust residue. The lume plots presents some damage. The hands have been changed. The indexes present a reaction to UV-lighting fading rapidly.

Catalogue Note:
Tiffany & Co is without doubt the most historic and prestigious luxury retailer in the United States. Established in 1838 by Charles Lewis Tiffany and John Young with a $1,000 loan from Tiffany’s father, the first store was opened in 1838 on Broadway, before later moving to their flagship location on 5th Avenue and being renamed Tiffany and Co. Tiffany & Co’s relationship with watches goes back to their earliest days, and they have reserved their horological partnership to the world’s two most preeminent watch brands, Patek Philippe and Rolex. In the mid-1950s, Tiffany joined a select group of retailers worldwide given the privilege of printing their logo on the dial of Rolex’s most prestigious models. Throughout most of the time of their relationship, Rolex allowed the retailer to stamp their dials at their 5th Avenue premises and completed by Tiffany watchmakers, not at the Rolex factory in Switzerland. The exact number of Tiffany dialed Rolex’s from this era is unknown, but they are undoubtedly extremely rare, and represent some of the most sought after, desirable and iconic watches to ever come to market.

Chronographs first appeared in the Rolex catalog in 1937 utilizing movements from Valjoux. The initial single button two register pieces were soon followed by the now-familiar configuration of two buttons and three registers. The first oyster, the chronograph was the Ref 5034, followed by the 5035, 6034, 2334, which graduated to the 6238 and on to the ‘Cosmograph’ Daytona era. As so often with Rolex, the differences between references can be almost imperceptible and often seemingly trivial, with many parts interchangeable between these references, but this belies the importance of these collective improvements over time. The arrival of the Ref 6239 and 6241 did however bring significant change; whilst the case remained the same at the 6238, Rolex introduced the use of inverted colors for the chronograph sub-dial and the Tachymeter scale (used for measuring distance over time, aka, speed) was moved from the dial on to the watches enlarged bezel, increasing the watches diameter by 1mm, small changes that made a significant visual difference. Another step forward was with the references 6263 and 6265, the last of the manual wound Daytona’s, this time fitted with ‘Oyster’ cases and improved screw-down pushers to increase the watches waterproofness.

These references were available with a number of dial configurations. Whilst the exotic dialed variants, often known as ‘Paul Newman’ dialed watches are the least common, those with their retailer's name stamped to the dial are equally rare. In this instance, we have a highly desirable combination of ‘Big Red’ dial (in reference to the red Daytona text above the 6 o’clock register) combined with the ultra-desirable ‘Tiffany & Co’ text above the hands.

Rarely seen and ultra-desirable, these double-stamped Daytona’s don’t often find their way to the auction room, and this represents a rare opportunity to acquire such a unique and sought-after timepiece.