Rare Vintage Rolex Unboxing: Double Signed "Pre-Daytona" | What's In The Box Ep. 22

Unbox a rare double-signed Rolex Oyster Chronograph ref. 6034 with us on this edition of What’s in the Box. Shop: www.bobswatches.com

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Rolex Oyster Chronograph Ref. 6034

The Daytona as we know it today didn’t take shape until well after the ref. 6034 was produced, which is why it has such an unusual design set and doesn’t yet feature the name “Daytona” on the dial. Rolex released ref. 6034 sometime in the early 1950s and produced it until around 1961 when it was discontinued and replaced by “Pre-Daytona” ref. 6234. Next came ref. 6238, followed shortly after by the first Daytona watch, ref. 6239.

Pre-Daytona watches, like ref. 6034, don’t have the tachymeter scale printed on the bezel. Rather, it is printed around the perimeter of the dial. Aside from retro dial furniture, such as syringe-style hands and hours marked by an Arabic numeral at 12 o’clock and arrowheads, the dial isn’t too unlike the traditional Daytona. It has the famous tri-compax layout featuring three sub-dials.

Rolex produced many variations of this watch during its production, including a stainless steel model like the Rolex featured in this week’s episode of What’s in the Box and 14k yellow gold and 18k yellow gold.

This model has a matching stainless steel C&I USA Oyster Rivet bracelet and a "7-67" clasp. It also comes with a brown leather strap and a stainless steel Rolex buckle. Additionally, the inside case back is stamped “6034.”

The white dial on this model has developed a striking creamy patina. The luminescent material has darkened through the years and is missing in parts of the hands.

The Valjoux Caliber 72 Movement:

Today, the Daytona is powered by an in-house movement, but that wasn’t always the case. Initially, Rolex relied on outsourced movements to drive its iconic chronograph. For many decades, the Daytona had a hand-wound movement. It wasn’t until the Zenith “El Primero” generation was released in the late 1980s that the Daytona would be upgraded to an automatic outsourced movement. Rolex brought the production of its chronograph movements in-house with the caliber 4130 in 2000.

The Valjoux caliber 72 inside this Rolex is regarded as one of the best manual-wind chronograph movements ever made. It beats at a rate of 18,000 bph and boasts a 48-hour power reserve. On this model, the movement is stamped with US import code "ROW,” which aligns with the fact that it was sold by US retailer Brock & Company.

Rolex and Double-Signed Watches: Brock & Company
Double-signed Rolex watches, or “signed dials,” have the retailer’s name in addition to the Rolex logo on the dial. Although a seemingly small detail, the additional logo tells us a lot about a watch, including where it was sold and possibly even when it was sold.

Double-signed Rolex watches are rare, but those printed with Brock & Co. on the dial are more so. Brock & Company was a renowned jewelry store in Los Angeles that was often regarded as the “Tiffany of the West.” They sold jewelry and watches, some stamped with the company’s name. The fact that the retailer is displayed on the dial makes this pre-Daytona even more
collectible.


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