The one to rule them all? Rolex Daytona 6241 'Paul Newman'
Massive treat for me today as I get to lay hands on this absolutely glorious Daytona 6241 “Paul Newman”.
This particular Daytona variant achieved the nickname as the man himself was gifted one (reference 6239) with the engraving “Drive carefully, Me” by his wife Joanne Woodward.
He was regularly seen wearing it over several decades, and years later with the resurgence of vintage cool the Daytona “Newman” became the stuff of legend.
Newmans are easily identifiable by their “exotic” stepped edge tri-colour dials (either black or white) featuring art deco style numerals, square “lollipop” subdial markers and a red minute track.
It is a grail for many, myself included, and the 6241 is one of the more sought after variants thanks to its Bakelite bezel and uncluttered dial.
Less than 2300 were ever made in steel between 1966 and 1969, and who knows how many have been lost over time.
Speaking of which, I’m going to divert for a second and tell you the true story of a woman who bought a couch from a thrift store in Canada, dropped her phone down the side of it in 2019, and on retrieving the phone also found a lost 6241 just like this one lurking within its frame.
After failing to track down the previous owner - she sold the sofa treasure for a cool quarter of a million.
Panda’s (so called due to the white face and black “eyes”) are my favourite Daytona, and this is a gorgeous example with a lovely off-white patina and eggshell original tritium hands and markers.
Tritium is the precursor to Luminova. Rather than being “charged up” by light like modern compounds, it had a constant glow which was created as it degraded and released low level beta radiation.
It was introduced to watchmaking in the 1960s as a safe alternative to Radium, which emitted infinitely dodgier gamma radiation - effectively Chernobyl for the wrist.
Watches of the era which used Tritium are identifiable by the T markings at the bottom of the dial, the Newman reading T Swiss T just below 6.
The downside of Trit is that it has a half life of 12 years and has usually lost its luminescence entirely by 25. The upside, is that as it ages it takes on a lovely series of hues that collectors go wild for ranging from cream all the way to an orangey pumpkin colour for watches that have sat in darkened safes for a long time.
Anyway, taking the nerdy science goggles off, the golden oldies are smaller then the modern Daytona at 37mm, and the steel case is fat and sharp which is a great sign on vintage pieces as it means that it hasnt suffered from over polishing in its lifetime.
This one is a “Pump Pusher” case which predates the screw-down crown and pusher models which were phased in to the Newmans in the early 70s as the 6241 was phased out.
Pump Pusher cases were not designed to be water resistant. They were, after all, designed for the racing tracks and not the Mariana Trench.
With the launch of screw-downs, water resistance was increased, but at the same time, the word “Oyster” was added to the dial which takes away a little from the clean lean and minimalist look that happens to be right up my alley.
I’d note at this point that even if a vintage Rolex of any variety is an “Oyster” model, be careful around water regardless of original resistance. Not something that really needs to be said, but still, I’m here to look out for you!
Topping the case and dial is a box “plexiglass” crystal.
As with everything in life, there are trade-offs.
Plexiglass It is more prone to micro scratches than sapphire but one of its huge plus points as well as warmth and aesthetic appeal is that these can be removed using a compound called Polywatch which when rubbed onto the crystal with a soft cloth heats up the acrylic slightly using friction, allowing it to fill in, smooth over, and remove scratches without any loss of material.
Sapphire crystals are far less likely to be scratched (unless coming into contact with diamond) but they are also brittle so much likelier to shatter under impact.
Sapphire crystals are also not particularly well suited to vintage watches as they’re rather clinical and lack warmth and “character”
This Newman is on its original Oyster “Rivet” bracelet, which is a vintage lovers chefs kiss - particularly when found in good condition, as this is.
You can spot a vintage rivet bracelet easily due to the nodules that protude from the sides of the links - they predate the fliplock clasp era so are secured by a simple but effective fold-over bladed snap mechanism.
Funnily enough some modern manufacturers are adopting “false rivet” bracelets in a nod to these old chronographs, but you can’t beat the real thing for multiple different reasons but the main one being COMFORT.
I wish they’d bring these back, honestly.
Rivet bracelets are more complex than the standard Oysters that we see today. They incorporate a deliberate flex and stretch mechanism which works to slightly separate the links as you bend your wrist and move around leading to absolute comfort when wearing. This mechanism isnt to be confused with “bracelet stretch” that is often referenced when talking vintage and is caused by wear - rivet stretch is not the same thing and it is blooming marvellous.
As much as I like the beefy over enginered modern Rolex bracelets, wearing a lighter, perfectly balanced old-world one is where the love is at for me.
While im on the subect of love - manual winding movements
The 6241 is powered by the Valjoux 722 calibre, a 17 jewel column wheel workhorse with a 42 hour power reserve on a full wind.
One of my favourite features of a vintage “hand cranker” is that they are audible on the wrist as they tick along. This is particularly noticeable on vintage pieces with plexi crystals.
You don’t hear it as much with an automatic but the sound of a mechanical working away in the background of your life is something that I really enjoy.
You may have noticed that this is an emphatically glowing review, but, I’m an absolute sucker for vintage watches and the Daytona Paul Newman ticks every single box for me, and then some.
Exotic dial configuration, deco influences, plexiglass, manual winding, compact, rare, comfortable and effortlessly COOL.
It’s always a treat handling one, and getting to share my excitement with you guys.
I hope you’ve enjoyed the tour as much as I’ve enjoyed giving it.