Vintage Rolex 6263 - Uncovering The Reverse Panda Sigma Dial | Bob's Watches Vintage Vault Ep. 3

We’re cracking open the vintage vault this week to showcase a black dial Daytona ref. 6263. Shop our collection of vintage Rolex watches here: www.bobswatches.com/vintage-r...
To shop the Rolex watches mentioned in this video and many more from the Daytona collection, click here: www.bobswatches.com/rolex-day...
ROLEX DAYTONA 6263 HISTORY:
Rolex partnered with the Daytona Speedway in 1962 when the brand became the official timekeeper. Just a year later, in 1963, Rolex released the first Cosmograph ref. 6239, aptly nicknamed the “Daytona.” It was perfect for motorsport, featuring a Tachymeter bezel and a chronograph movement.
Paul Newman famously wore the inaugural Daytona 6239 for most of his life, featuring a striking white dial and black chronograph registers with art deco-style numerals. It recently sold at auction for a staggering $17.8 million.
Bob’s Watches has the largest selection of certified pre-owned Rolex watches on the secondary market. Shop our inventory here: www.bobswatches.com/rolex/
Early examples of the Daytona, including the topic of this video ref. 6263, belong to the first generation of Daytona watches powered by iterations of the hand-wound Valjoux cal. 72 in some form or another. For example, the cal. 727 powers reference 6263, featuring a 48-hour power reserve and 21,600 bph.
Reference 6263 was produced between 1971 and 1988 alongside ref. 6265. While the Daytona 6265 features a stainless steel bezel with an engraved Tachymeter scale, ref. 6263 boasts a striking black acrylic inlay. Both models also feature an acrylic crystal and rely on manual-winding movements. Notably, they were the last of the first generation to include an acrylic crystal and a hand-wound movement.
Succeeding this era was the 5-digit generation powered by the outsourced Zenith “El Primero” self-winding chronograph movement, the calibre 4030. This movement was modified in-house to remove the date mechanism and slow the frequency from 36,000 bph to 28,800 bph.
The third generation followed in 2000, featuring a 6-digit reference number and the cal. 4130 Perpetual movement developed and produced entirely by Rolex.
The example we have here also features service screw-down chronograph pushers, hermetically sealing the case, like the iconic Oyster case seen on later editions of the Daytona. It was produced in 1973 and has a 3.4 million serial number.
SIGMA DIAL:
When the Daytona 6263 was in production, mechanical watches were becoming less desirable. This came during an era when Quartz technology took the market by storm and threatened to topple the Swiss watchmaking industry altogether. This shift in watch trends was also partly responsible for Rolex’s transition from manual-winding to outsourced self-winding movements.
Additionally, the price of gold quintupled between 1970 and 1974. To entice buyers, Rolex also added gold hour markers and hands to the Daytona dial. These editions are referred to as Sigma dials and feature special markings just below the 6-hour marker on either side of the “Swiss” distinction.
This initiative was part of a greater cause known as the “L’Association pour la Promotion Industrielle de l’Or,” aka “The Association for the Industrial Promotion of Gold,” or “APIOR.” It was comprised of several other Swiss watchmakers that sought to lure buyers away from quartz-powered watches and to distinguish better which metals watches were made of, particularly precious metal. While yellow gold might be more obvious, it is easier to mistake white gold for steel.
Even though the APIOR sought to promote the use of gold within the watchmaking industry, it was not solely responsible for creating the Sigma dial. In fact, the APIOR was founded in 1973, and the first instance of the Sigma dial dates to before the organization’s inception to sometime in the 1960s.
Seeing the Greek Sigma mark on the dial is a sure-fire way to distinguish that the watch boasts white gold surrounds instead of steel. For many collectors, this was a huge selling point for the vintage Daytona. It’s also important to note that it wasn’t just reserved for precious metal watches either. It was also featured on steel watches, such as the Daytona ref. 6263 to denote the use of gold on the dial.
While Rolex placed the Sigma mark on the dial, other brands, such as Patek Philippe and IWC, included the emblem on the case and bracelet. Lastly, Sigma dials were only produced by Rolex during the 1970s, although other brands also used the Sigma emblem until well into the late 2000s.

[@aovermont]

Beautiful and iconic. 6263 1972 model is all time grail. Perfect timepiece

[@audemarspiguet4237]

Daytona is such a timeless piece

[@Matt-qx3jb]

I have that watch but it is the Big red variant. It does have a sigma dial like that

[@kennyhandkammer273]

My favorite watch BIG RED makes another big diferance.

[@1253443]

When it says Cosmograph on the dial it is a Rolex Cosmograph. When it says Daytona on the dial then it is a Daytona. I have a 6239 with Daytona on the dial made in 1966.

[@kama1078]

Awesome! In which timeframe was it possible to configure jubilee on a daytona? Thanks