Sunday, July 03, 2016

James Bond Rolex Pre-Daytona Chronograph Comes To Auction


...Rolex Super-Coolness...

James Bond
Rolex Pre-Daytona Chronograph
[1968 36MM Rolex Reference 6238 / Caliber 722]

Rolex Chronograph Worn by George Lazenby
On Her Majesty's Secret Service
Coming To Auction

It's really rare, but it happens!!!! A Rolex worn in a James Bond movie is offered at auction. Last time, it was Roger Moore's Rolex Submariner that he wore in Live And Let Die, which sold in 2015 in Geneva at Phillips Auction House for $363,000.

This time it's an extremely rare Rolex Pre-Daytona Rolex Chronograph which was worn by George Lazenby (pictured above) in the James Bond Movie titled "On Her Majesty's Secret Service." The actual Rolex Chronograph he wore in the movie is pictured below, and will be soon auctioned! That's right, you can actually own a Rolex worn by James Bond, and it's not just any Rolex Submariner...Instead its a Rolex Chronograph that was the last model Chronograph Rolex made before they introduced The Rolex Daytona!!!




It is interesting because when most people think about James Bond and Rolex, they think about a Rolex Submariner, and of course all James Bond actors wore different Rolex Submariner models up until Pierce Bronsan. 

In the photo below, we see George Lazenby wearing his Rolex Submariner from this image taken on the set of the James Bond movie, "On Her Majesty's Secret Service."



George Lazenby's Rolex Submariner was front and center in the beginning of the movie, as we see in the screenshot below taken from "On Her Majesty's Secret Service." If you look carefully, you will notice he took his Rolex watch off and put in on the copy machine in front of him, while he read Playboy Magazine. Groovy Baby, Yeah!!!!!


The Rolex Submariner is so synonyms with early James Bond actors, it often surprises people to learn that George Lazenby also wore a Rolex Pre-Daytona Chronograph in the movie, as seen in the photos below. The first three images below show George Lazenby kissing Catherina Von Schell.




The Rolex Chronograph seen on George Lazenby's wrist in the photos above and below is the actual watch being auctioned. Legend has it that watch is unique in that Eon Productions custom ordered this watch from Rolex to be made with an unusual red second-hand, as apposed to the standard stainless steel second hand. The watch was originally purchased through Bucherer in Switzerland on October 23, 1968.


The Rolex Chronograph model Reference 6238 was made in 1968 and is referred to as a Rolex Pre-Daytona Chronograph as it has the tachometer scale printed on the dial, as apposed to on the bezel, which is where all Daytona models feature their scale.










It's interesting to note that in the James Bond poster below for On Her Majesty's Secret Service that George Lazenby is wearing the Rolex Pre-Daytona Chronograph.