Rolex Vault › All references › Daytona
Daytona · 1971 to 1988 · Discontinued · Vintage
“Manual 6265”
Not ranked: too few recorded sales
Market range: 19 public auction results (Christie's, Phillips) from the last 3 years, buyer's premium included.
Median public auction result (Christie's, Phillips) for each year with 2 or more sales, buyer's premium included. Dashed line marks the 1973 retail price.
The 6263's twin with a polished steel tachymeter bezel instead of black acrylic, made side by side for 17 years. Collectors split on which is prettier; the market prices them nearly identically.
It's the last of the manual-wind Daytonas, screw-down pushers, Valjoux 727, and the direct ancestor of every six-figure Daytona result at auction.
Seventeen years in the catalog and routinely discounted at dealers, the manual Daytonas were the slow sellers of their day. The people who bought them anyway, because they liked them, made one of the best accidental investments in watch collecting.
The 6265's metal bezel version polarizes against the 6263's black acrylic, and collectors flip between them like Beatles-or-Stones. Big Red dials, screw-down pushers, Valjoux 727: the full vintage chronograph liturgy.
Our verdict: Blue-chip vintage with decades of auction history behind it. Buy on originality: pushers, bezel and dial must match the serial era.
| Sizes | 37mm |
|---|---|
| Case & bracelet | Oystersteel (stainless) |
| Factory bracelet | Oyster |
| Factory bezels | Steel tachymeter (metal, where the 6263 wears black acrylic) |
| Notable dials | Silver; Black; Big Red DAYTONA; Exotic Paul Newman (six figures) |
| Caliber | Valjoux 727 |
| Production | 1971 to 1988 (discontinued) |
| Sold | Example | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Jun 13, 2026 | Phillips auction · New York Watch Auction: XIV ↗︎ Big Red | $114,300 |
| May 27, 2026 | Christie's auction · Hong Kong live sale ↗︎ steel · sold for HKD 508,000 | $64,854 |
| May 11, 2026 | Christie's auction · Geneva live sale ↗︎ steel · sold for CHF 38,100 | $48,609 |
| May 11, 2026 | Christie's auction · Geneva live sale ↗︎ Big Red steel · sold for CHF 69,850 | $89,117 |
| May 9, 2026 | Phillips auction · Geneva Watch Auction: XXIII ↗︎ steel · sold for CHF 57,150 | $72,914 |
| May 9, 2026 | Phillips auction · Geneva Watch Auction: XXIII ↗︎ steel · sold for CHF 63,500 | $81,016 |
| May 9, 2026 | Phillips auction · Geneva Watch Auction: XXIII ↗︎ Big Red · sold for CHF 88,900 | $113,422 |
| Dec 9, 2025 | Christie's auction · New York live sale ↗︎ steel | $53,340 |
Recorded eBay completed sales, logged at our last data refresh.