The UK Luxury Swiss Replica Rolex 6062 Triple Calendar Moonphase Watches, And Why It Remains The Biggest Star In All Of Vintage Rolex
The Rolex 6062 Triple Calendar Moonphase is the ultimate expression of sports and elegance. It’s Roger Federer floating across the baseline or Adam Scott’s backswing. Alongside the 8171, it’s the only vintage Rolex with a moonphase, and the only time a complicated automatic movement was put in a waterproof Oyster case. It’s the most beautiful Rolex ever made – indeed, one of the few AAA Rolex replica watches for which I’d even use the word “beautiful,” and I’m not alone in this feeling. Rolex perfected this form of sports elegance in the 1950s: robust, technical watchmaking combined with simple, beautiful designs.
While gilt Submariners or Oyster Paul Newmans might get talked about more, the 6062 and its subdued 36mm Oyster case quietly remains one of the most collectible best UK Rolex fake watches ever. With less than a couple hundred examples ever having surfaced, that’s not changing any time soon.
This auction season, something funny happened: five 6062s are appearing between October and November. That means it’s the perfect time to take a deep dive into my favorite vintage Rolex reference to understand its enduring collectibility, before looking at each of the examples coming to auction.
For this article, I’ve compiled a database of more than 100 examples of the 6062 that have sold since 2000 – you can view the public version here. It’s a living document, but the links start to give you a picture of the 6062 – service dials, auction results, but most importantly, how beautiful it can be.
What Is The Rolex 6062?
Introduced at Basel Fair in 1950 and produced through 1953, the Rolex 6062 is a triple calendar moonphase in a 36mm Oyster case. It’s an odd, beautiful combination of robust elegance, born in the early ’50s shortly after Rolex introduced the Datejust and was experimenting with complications. Soon, it’d focus on simple, sportier cheap replica Rolex watches like the Submariner, Explorer, and GMT-Master. After the 8171 and 6062, Rolex introduced the luxurious Day-Date in 1956, which became its high-end calendar offering. We didn’t see a Rolex moonphase again until the introduction of the Cellini Moonphase in 2017.
Stern Frères produced the 6062’s dial, which clearly communicates the triple calendar’s information with day and month windows along with an outer date track. The best examples have sharp angles for the day and month windows – these angles can be lost if a dial is refinished. We’ll look closer at the 6062’s six dial types below. The moonphase steals the show, a blue enamel champlevé similar to that seen on Patek Philippe calendars, adding a man in the moon with a Mona Lisa smile.
The Oyster case of the 6062 was produced in yellow gold, pink gold, and steel, with yellow being the most common. About two-thirds of the 100-plus examples I surveyed are yellow gold, with the rest of production split evenly between pink gold and steel. Production estimates vary, but only a couple hundred 6062 examples have ever appeared at auction. In catalogs citing Tortella & Sons’ research, the gold standard for these high quality Rolex copy watches (here and here, for example), estimates have varied from 300 to 600 examples produced in yellow gold and 180 in pink gold. Even at the higher estimate, this would put total production of the ref. 6062 across all metals below 1,000.
Twice, the most expensive Rolex ever sold at auction has been a reference 6062. This was the “Bao Dai,” featuring a black dial and diamond indices, named after the emperor of Vietnam who bought it during a royal shopping spree while in Geneva in 1954. It first held the title in 2002, selling for CHF 370,000, then regained it in 2017, selling for $5.06 million (the “Paul Newman” Paul Newman Daytona lapped it a few months after for the title).
The Different Dials Of The Rolex 6062
The 6062 can be found with six types of original dials, most easily identified by their markers. There are two generations of star dials, or stelline, Italian for “little stars”: the first has lume inside of the star markers (notated as Dial Type 755 by dial supplier Stern), and the second has lume plots outside the stars (Dial Type 453). Besides the popular stelline, the dial types are: dagger, Explorer (with 3 and 9 Arabic numerals), pyramid (or “Egyptian”), and triangles.
Except for the rare black dials, the wholesale replica Rolex 6062 watches features a two-tone silver dial. The center of the dial has a matte grainé finish that gives it a grainy texture, while the peripheral date track appears smoother. Age and patina have exaggerated the two-tone nature of these dials, and it’s possible they seemed more uniform when born in the ’50s; for example, it’s harder to make out the two tones on the well-preserved dial of the 6062 “Dark Star:”
This is one way to tell if a 6062 has a service dial or has been refinished (and many have been): if it appears as a single tone, it’s likely not completely original. Speaking of, we’ve discussed relumed 6062 dials in the past, easy to identify because of the super-sized lume plots (and if you’ll recall, that relumed pink gold stelline appeared on the market again a few years later, looking a lot different and selling for a lot more money).
Perhaps the best tell for spotting a service dial is the signature at six o’clock. Here’s the general rule: steel 6062s should have a “Swiss Made” signature; gold 6062s should have a “Swiss” only signature, except for gold 6062s with Explorer dials, which also have “Swiss Made.” Service dials will sometimes be signed “T Swiss T,” indicating tritium on the dial, the luminous material Rolex transitioned to in the ’60s, long after the 6062 went out of production.
I’ve found the pyramid dial to be the rarest of the six types, only seen in the last batches of cases (beginning with serial 911,xxx and 942,xxx). The two types of stelline dials seem to be the most common, found in nearly half of the 6062s surveyed. Explorer dials are typically found in stainless steel examples, though a few have appeared in gold cases (including three pink gold examples we’ll take about more).
The Type 1 Stelline (755) seems more common than the Type 2 Stelline (453) – Dial Type 755 is found across all case batches, while Dial Type 453 is only found in the first couple batches (serial 690,xxx and 788,xxx).
The rarest 6062s feature black dials – I documented seven. Three of these black dials also feature diamond indices like the Bao Dai; the record-setting 6062 sets itself apart because its diamond markers sit on even numerals instead of odd. Unlike the two-tone silver dials, these have a uniform black lacquer with matching black moonphase.
The 6062 Oyster Case
It’s the combination of the calendar complication and the waterproof Oyster case that makes the 6062 such a beautiful contradiction. While the 8171 had a larger snap-back case, the 6062 has a case similar to that found in your everyday Datejust, Explorer, or Day-Date. That Rolex even thought to put a calendar (paired with its “perpetual” automatic winding system) inside its innovative new Oyster case is mind-blowing.
The year 1953 marked a turning point for Rolex when it discontinued the 6062 (and 8171), and introduced true sports 1:1 Rolex super clone watches like the Submariner and Explorer that would come to define the brand we know today. Of course, there are many reasons we love that brand, but there’s a certain charm in this 1950s Rolex still figuring it out, combining complications and Oyster cases just to see what might stick.
Stainless steel 6062 cases were produced by Spillman, Rolex’s longtime supplier for steel Oyster cases. Gold cases were produced by Genex, the case-making arm of famed bracelet maker Gay Frères (which Rolex acquired in 1998), identifiable by the maker’s mark 12 on the inside caseback. I’ve read one auction catalog that hinted at possible two-tone 6062s cases being produced, but this remains a rumor.
Serial numbers of the 6062 come in clear batches, indicating how vintage Rolex replica watches for sale were produced more generally. The 6062’s serial ranges are: 690,xxx, 788,xxx, 911,xxx, 916,xxx, and 942,xxx. One odd prototype dates to 1948, two years before the 6062 was officially released at Basel Fair in 1950.
Two kinds of crowns are found on the 6062: most common is the Super Oyster, while some have the Twin-lock crown.
The 6062’s Triple Calendar Caliber
Inside the ref. 6062 is the Rolex automatic caliber 655 developed for the model, also called the Super Balance 9.75 (referencing the caliber measuring 9 ¾ lignes). The base movement has 17 or 18 jewels (17 commonly found in U.S. market examples because of higher taxes), with the additional calendar module.
Each movement was chronometer certified, as indicated on the dial at either 12 or six o’clock.
Collecting The Rolex 6062
Often, collectibility, rarity, and beauty coincide. A pink-on-pink 1518 is incredibly beautiful and incredibly rare, making it one of the most collectible 1518 variations (after the four steel examples).
This isn’t quite the case with the 6062. First, collectors prioritize condition above any particular dial or case variation – “condition is the new rarity” is a common maxim thrown around nowadays, and nowhere is it more true than the 6062. These Rolex fake watches site have been traded, collected, and messed with for multiple generations now. Many have polished cases, refinished or service dials, or have been ruined in some other way. Those with documentable originality and provenance, or the increasingly rare “fresh to market” examples continue to be the most exciting 6062s.
In-Depth: The Rolex 6062 In Steel
In 2017, another steel 6062 with anExplorer dial came to auction. It gave Cara Barrett a chance to go in-depth on the elusive 6062 in steel.
“It’s about condition more than any specific configuration,” says Remi Guillemin, head of Christie’s Watch Department in Geneva. During his time at Christie’s, he’s seen a number of important 6062s – for example, he’s sold the Dark Star (“it gave me goosebumps,” he said), and will be selling the pink stelline 6062 previously from the Bethune collection this November.
“I’d rather have a mint yellow gold 6062 than an average stainless steel version,” Guillemin added.
Stainless steel and pink gold examples are considerably less common than yellow gold (I found them in roughly equal numbers in my survey). Both have achieved multi-million dollar auction results, but stainless steel examples are generally considered the real grails because of their perceived wearability – as if such practical concerns matter at this level. We’ve seen a couple in Talking Watches from mega collectors Jason Singer and John Goldberger (in part 2). Goldberger’s came via auction in 2017, selling for ~$742,000. An Explorer dial in great condition, it’s a decent comp for the steel example at Phillips this November that we’ll talk about.
Meanwhile, stelline dials are more common but continue to capture the imagination of collectors. Besides the Galaxy, Rolex didn’t put stars on its dials, and the result is an alluring, romantic dial that, for some reason, is in a tough waterproof case. There are few top replica Rolex watches more confounding and charming, and that’s why some of the best stelline 6062s realize the biggest results.
6062 Superlatives And Auction Results
This brings us to the quantitative portion of today’s program. Because condition is so important with 6062s and can vary widely in these 70-year-old perfect fake Rolex watches, auction results can also be all over the place. Just last year, we saw reprinted dials sell for $64,000 and $257,000 (this second one is a commonly seen service dial – note the incorrect “Swiss Made,” sloppy and bold date track, and loss of two-tone texture) while all-original examples continued to achieve million-dollar results.
Besides the Bao Dai’s $5 million dollar result, here are a few of the biggest 6062s to appear at auction:
The Sexiest One: ‘Black Star’ 6062
This yellow gold ref. 6062 is nicknamed the “Black Star” because of the unique patina on its case. It first appeared at auction in 2011 when it sold for $542,500. The Black Star came up for sale again in 2018 when it sold for $1.57 million. It’s also been called “The Sock” because according to the original owner he’d stored it in a sock and forgotten about it for many years. The first time it appeared in 2011, it even had the original Rolex strap.
Christie’s Remi Guillemin called it the best 6062 he’s ever seen, and collectors like Edmond Saran have agreed. The case has developed a patina that would make Darth Vadar proud, but retains sharp and original lines. The dial is also untouched and textbook.
The Rarest One: Pink Gold Explorer Dial 6062
If measured simply by rarity, a pink gold Swiss made replica Rolex 6062 watches with Explorer dial is the ultimate 6062. Only three are known to the market, and they make headlines whenever they sell (two have appeared at auction, the third is documented in Goldberger’s 100 Superlative Rolex Watches).
This particular example has sold twice over the past decade, achieving major results both times. Monaco Legend last sold this pink gold 6062 for €2.1 million in April 2022, when dealer Davide Parmegiani saved no superlatives in the catalog, calling it the “best” pink Explorer 6062 in existence. This same 6062 made waves in 2015 when it sold at Phillips’ first Geneva auction for CHF 1.1 million.
The Famous One: Pink Stelline 6062 From The Bethune Collection
Finally, there’s the pink stelline 6062 once owned by Gordon Bethune, a well-known watch collector who was the CEO of Continental Airlines in the ’90s. This 6062 first came to auction in 2012 ($590,500), appearing again in 2018 (CHF 1.9 million).
The Bethune 6062 will come to auction again at Christie’s Geneva in November, with an estimate of CHF 1-2 million. For the past five years, it’s been owned by Mohammed Zaman, who is selling his collection in a mega single-owner sale (which we covered here). Christie’s Guillemin said this is the best-preserved 6062 he’s seen after the Dark Star.
The Bethune 6062 is one of a number of best quality fake Rolex watches up for sale again after selling for a huge price in the past few years. With the market slowing down, it might be tough to surpass the result from 2018, but it’s an undeniably special watch.
We could offer superlatives to more 6062s – for example, black dials with stars or diamonds – but since the Bethune 6062 starts our discussion of the examples at auction this fall, let’s look at the other four.