With such a limited production run, very few 6202s were produced, making the standard black dial version a very rare and desirable piece in it’s own right. Of those that were produced, white dial examples represent the very rarest of the reference with an example as good as this white honeycomb dial representing a seriously rare find.

The case engravings are superb for the age and the original case lines well preserved having not been buffed out.
The case back is marked IV,53 to denote manufacture in the 4th quarter of 1953. The outer caseback still retains it original engravings 'registered design' and 'modele depose', testament to the condition of the watch as these are often buffed/polished out on examples of the 6202, it is testament to the condition of this piece that the engravings remain and demonstrates that the watch has never been heavily polished. There is a light bit of bracelet wear to the lug engraving at the base of the ‘6202’ engraving as it to be expected, but otherwise the engravings are immaculate.

The dial is in excellent condition with with the gold hour markers, hands and emblem are in superb original condition, retaining the original high polish and not having oxidised through being protected in the case. The lovely original honeycomb dial itself is in fantastic condition, the surface texture of the waffle dial means that they can be susceptible to gathering dirty or dust and can be very dirty, this example however has remained well preserved and clean and remains a very nice white tone with a very soft even patina.

The bezel remains in nice condition and can still be turned, the spring wire has not seized as is typical on examples of this age and so this remains in good condition . The insert has been replaced as is common in 6202's and is in nice condition

The lovely bimetal Rolex rivet bracelet is in great vintage condition, with 14k links down the centres and on the edges looks superb with the watch. For clarity for those that don't know, bimetal bracelets were all made with steel lug ends and this is part of the design and can be seen when one searches for images or video of other white dial 6202s. The clasp is in excellent condition and remains firm.

Functioning well and keeping good time.

At 36mm the watch sits very well on the wrist and the combination of the white, gold and black of the bezel makes for a really standout piece of design.

A very rare 1953 Rolex 6202 Turnograph with original white honeycomb dial. Undeniably one of the most important references in Rolex history, the 6202 was only produced for a very limited time after it’s release in 1953. The reference is famously considered the ‘pre submariner’ being the brands first watch to feature the all important rotating bezel that became the foundation for the submariner line as well as pulling many other design queues from the Turnograph. Naturally it lead to the contuining turnograph and thunderbird lines but also gave birth to the all important Milgauss, with the reference 6541 taking some clear inspiration from this all important reference. Already considered a very rare and desirable reference, with the stratospheric rise of the early Submariners and Milgauss prices in the past few years, we believe this reference to be the reference to watch in the near future.

Brand: Rolex
Model: Turnograph
Reference: 6202
Year: 1953
Movement: Automatic
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Diameter: 36mm
Lug Width: 19mm
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Box/Papers: Watch only