Rolex Daytona 6262 'Blue' Stainless Steel Black 'Reverse Panda' Dial (1970)
The reference 6262 occupies one of the most coveted positions in vintage Rolex Daytona collecting — produced for only a single year in 1970 as a transitional reference bridging the early and late manual-winding Daytonas, and consequently ranking among the rarest Daytonas ever made. This particular execution carries the additional distinction of a "Blue" Daytona dial — the coveted natural patina phenomenon where the printed "DAYTONA" text above the six o'clock register has aged from white silver print into a soft baby blue tone, a change that occurs organically over decades on select Singer-made vintage dials. The combination of the reference's transitional rarity with the Blue Daytona patina places this example among the most coveted vintage Daytonas in the collector market today. The 37mm case in stainless steel features pump chronograph pushers, screw-down crown, and stainless steel tachymetric bezel engraved to 200 mph. The matte black dial carries three silver subdials — running seconds at nine, 30-minute counter at three, 12-hour counter at six — with tritium lume plots and the signature "DAYTONA" text patinated to soft blue above the six o'clock register. The manual-winding Valjoux Caliber 727 — a nickel-finished lever movement at 21,600 vibrations per hour — represented an evolution beyond the earlier 722 caliber, completed by a vintage stainless steel Rolex Oyster bracelet.