Antiquorum Geneva is about to auction a peculiar Rolex Daytona Ref. 6264 in stainless steel featuring a stunning “tropical” Paul Newman dial. Interestingly, the case number belongs to a legendary 18k gold batch, the engravings between the lugs are fake and so is the bezel. The dial? Well, that one has a life of its own.

Lot 170 – Rolex Ref. 6264, Daytona, Paul Newman, 2357350

Auction link: Lot 170 – Rolex, Ref, 6264, Daytona, Paul Newman, Tropical outer track and sub-dials (Antiquorum)

This watch is truly comical, in many respects. Firstly, the case number pertains to the Rolex Daytona Ref. 6264 18k gold batch that is home to the elusive Paul Newman “Lemon” dials. The known case number range of this 18k gold batch extends from 2357347 to 2357480 so clearly, 2357350 cannot be a stainless steel model. In addition, one look at the case number engravings between the lugs suffice to understand they are fake. As said, truly comical.

As you can see in the above comparison, the gold batch (2357347 – 2357480) was engraved with a different typeface than 2371114 at the bottom. During this period, Rolex used two different typefaces to engrave their cases. Some batches featured the earliest style known as Typeface A (top, since 1940s), while other batches were engraved with the more extended Typeface B (bottom). The fake engravings on 2357350 are a bad copy of Typeface B.

Read more: The Secrets of Rolex Case Number Engravings

The Paul Newman Panda dial with its “tropical” minute track and sub-dials is certainly impressive but haven’t we seen this very dial in another watch just recently? Siri? Search “Perezcope vintage Rolex Daytona database, Paul Newman Panda dial, Ref. 6262/6264, tropical outer track, stains in and around the coronet”. Voilà! That looks quite similar, does it not? But wait, a 300 units bezel on a Ref. 6262?

Let’s have a closer look at the area around the coronet and the Rolex logo. Indeed, a perfect match. This is without a doubt the very same dial.

Even the hands are still the same which shows they simply swapped the entire inner unit from one case to another. Lazy, are they not? For the record, in November 2020, this very dial was installed in a Ref. 6262 with case number 2733523. Auctioned by the same auction house for CHF 362,500 incl. buyer’s premium. Click the link below to see the listing.

Auction link: Lot 554 – Rolex, Ref. 6262, Daytona, Paul Newman Panda with brown subdials and brown outer track (Antiquorum)

Another interesting detail of this watch is the clearly fake bezel.

There are more questionable watches in the upcoming auction, namely a Rolex Daytona Ref. 6240 with a fake “Oyster Sotto” dial (now withdrawn but still visible in the virtual catalogue) and a multiple times relumed Rolex Ref. 6150 “Pre Explorer”, both discussed in a previous article:

Read more: Return to the Planet of the Fakes: “Albino” Daytona made in Tuscany

Thoughts

You may have noticed I did not discuss the authenticity of the dial itself. At first glance it looks ok. All important details are there, although some are somewhat exagerated, almost in a caricaturish way. That is always a sign to be cautious. The Tuscan counterfeiters have mastered the art of serifes some time ago but they tend to overdo it. I heard the latest dials are almost indistinguishable from the originals, especially on pictures. Without inspecting them up close in the flesh, they are very difficult to make out. But let’s look at this from a different perspective. Why install such an amazing “tropical” Paul Newman Panda dial in a watch with obviously fake case number engravings? I think this tells you everything you need to know about this whole thing. Now that this dial and its peculiar details have been in the spotlight – even if real – it is burned and so are all the case numbers related to it. What a waste!

Thanks you for your interest.
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