Throwback Thursday: Rolex Ref. 6269 “Le Hibou Grand-Duc”

Gemstone set Daytona’s made from precious metal are nothing new today, but in the 1980s, it was quite trailblazing for Rolex to offer its sports models in such a configuration. When you like them, it doesn’t get much better than this Ref. 6269 “Le Hibou Grand-Duc.” Made for the French market, it features on the caseback the French import marks and Rolex France’s logo. Its name, meaning “the owl Grand Duke” is also inspired by the image shown in the French import mark.

Crafted from yellow gold is this 37mm large Daytona set with 44 brilliant-cut diamonds, while an additional 240 grace the dial in a stunning pave setting. Even when making a precious watch such as this, Rolex still values legibility highly. Therefore, the subdials are kept intact, and blue sapphires take on the role of hour markers on the dial. This strong philosophy of creating gem-set sports watches in an uncompromising way is also what has given Rolex such an impressive reputation in this field. The Ref. 6269 “Le Hibou Grand-Duc” is powered by caliber 727, based on the Valjoux 72, and is extremely rare as only 30 have been created.

This particular watch was auctioned in 2018 as part of Phillips “Daytona Ultimatum” auction in Geneva. The Ref.6269 was sold for CHF 606,500, nearly spot-on in the middle of its estimate, which was between CHF 400,000 and CHF 800,000. Given its rarity, as well as its precious nature, this is not an overly large sum when it comes to a vintage Daytona of this pedigree. The fact that it is set with gemstones most likely has something to do with this. Such watches tend to be slightly less appreciated, although that is slowly, and rightfully changing, with prices themselves changing at a much faster page. With the developments in the vintage market the last couple of years, especially for a brand such as Rolex, it is very likely that it will achieve a must higher price when auctioned again today.