Getting your cherry popped.

You must be familiar with the story by now. Even though Daytonas -especially vintage ones- are extremely collectible nowadays, they were among the least popular Rolexes in the 1960s through to the 1980s. The rarest reference among these vintage Cosmographs has to be the 6264. Launched in the early 70s as a successor of the 6241. It also featured pump pushers and an acrylic bezel, but it distinguishes itself by the updated movement: cal. 727. In its approximate 2 year production run, an estimated 2500 have been produced. The majority of which is steel and only a couple hundred in yellow gold. Some were produced in the "usual" 18K gold alloy, but others -like this one- were made in 14K gold; to avoid high import duties in the United States.

So we have established a 6264 is rare, a 14K gold one even more so: but what if it is equipped with an 'Exotic' dial style? In that case you have entered the realm of ultimate vintage grails. The more well-known and broadly coveted gold Paul Newmans are the" Lemon" and the "John Player Special", but Singer produced another version that is exceptionally rare. Before we dive into the unsettled origins of this elusive variant, let us shine some light on the aesthetics.

Like all original exotic dials; it features art-deco style subdials and a stepped minute track, sporting square applied hour markers. Just like the previously mentioned JPS, the dial has a grainy black finish with gold printing: "Rolex Cosmograph". But unlike it, the subdials and minute track have a more lemon colored surface; as opposed to the champagne tone. But what truly sets it apart is the red Daytona designation above the hour totalizer; earning it the nickname "Cherry".

Lemons and cherries; what is up with this fruity combination? Only a handfull are in circulation, so any information on this configuration is hard to come by and we welcome additional theories. One that has been supported in the past by Mr. Mazzariol is that these were ultra-rare service replacement dials. He visited Singer -the dialmaker of the 4-digit Daytonas- and documented this dial, among many others. Due to the slightly slanted printing of the model name it could have also been a batch that has been rejected at first. However, more recently mr. Stahl (founder of Rolex Passion Report) came up with a different conclusion as a result of his research regarding the graphics and front plus backside of the dial. He explains it might have been made for the left over gold Daytona's with pump pushers. Interestingly enough, all these "Cherry JPS-dials" are found in 2.8 million serial range Daytonas, and when you analyze the subsequent dials made for the Oyster Paul Newmans, you see the same cliche design is being used. A third claim, which lacks empirical evidence, is that they were special orders for a dealer in the USA.

Will we ever find out the true origin story of this mythical Cherry? This 6264 is drenched in the mystique that attracts and/ or intrigues so many of us vintage Rolex lovers. The last notable chapter is Rolex quietly (off catalogue) introducing the yellow gold Daytona "Le Mans" in 2024: clearly inspired by the 'Exotic" design and also having Daytona printed in RED!

So, what’s the price you might ask? Well, we put a premium on transparency and dislike it when dealers indicate that their prices are on request. Such a unique and historically interesting watch deserves to find an appreciating and understanding home and, at the same time, we consider it our duty to maintain some discretion regarding its value. Because of these reasons we have decided to only make this watch available to our known clientele and worldwide renowned aficionados. It is being offered in partnership with Collectors Gallery Dubai on behalf of an important collector -residing abroad- hence the watch is not physically with us and arranging a viewing can take some days.