Rolex Daytona 6239 Black Dial on Stainless Steel 1967

The Ref. 6239 is where the Rolex Daytona story begins in earnest. Introduced in the mid-1960s, it was the first reference to carry the Daytona name on the dial, and the 6239 established the template — pump pushers, an engraved steel bezel, plexi crystal, and the manually wound Valjoux 72 — that every subsequent Daytona has answered to. What collectors now call the "Paul Newman" dial, with its exotic contrasting sub-dial registers and Art Deco numerals, appeared across several references of this era, but the 6239 is the original carrier. The caliber itself, a column-wheel chronograph movement, rewards the wrist: the pusher action is tactile in a way that later cam-controlled movements simply aren't.

This example presents a black exotic dial — the configuration that, against the white, commands the stronger following among serious collectors, partly for its rarity and partly because the contrast between the matte black field and the ivory sub-dial registers reads with a graphic clarity that photographs consistently understate. Dated to 1967 by its warranty card, it sits in the earlier part of the 6239 run, before the dial printing conventions shifted. The 37mm stainless steel case wears closer to 36mm on the wrist, a proportion that suits the reference's origins in motorsport timing rather than dress.

Offered in good condition, with box. Watch only — no papers.