69 - ROLEX REF. 6036, OYSTER CHRONOGRAPH DATO-COMPAX “JEAN-CLAUDE KILLY”, STAINLESS STEEL A rare stainless steel manually wound triple-calendar chronograph wristwatch with day, date and month indication and Rolex Oyster bracelet.

ROLEX REF. 6036, OYSTER CHRONOGRAPH DATO-COMPAX “JEAN-CLAUDE KILLY”, STAINLESS STEEL A rare stainless steel manually wound triple-calendar chronograph wristwatch with day, date and month indication and Rolex Oyster bracelet. Year: Circa 1950s Dial: Silvered dial with inlaid Arabic and arrow hour markers, outer date track with central pointer date hand, apertures for day and month below 12 o’clock, subsidiary dials for constant seconds, 30-minute and 12-hour recording, centre chronograph seconds and blued steel calendar hand, signed Rolex Oyster Chronographe Anti-Magnetic. Calibre: Rolex manually wound calibre 72C, based on Valjoux 72C, 17 jewels, with column-wheel chronograph and triple-calendar mechanism, signed. Case: Stainless steel Oyster case with screw-down crown, round chronograph pushers and recessed calendar correctors, screw-down case back, ref. 6036, case numbered 347XXX. Diameter: Approx. 36 mm Gross Weight: Approx. 68.1 g Bracelet: Rolex stainless steel riveted expandable Oyster bracelet with folding clasp dated 4/65, approx. 175 mm. Signature: Dial, movement, case, crown, bracelet and clasp. Among the most complicated wristwatches ever produced by Rolex, the celebrated Dato-Compax occupies a very special place in the history of the manufacture. First introduced in the 1940s, the Dato-Compax combined a chronograph with a complete calendar displaying the day, date and month, an unusually sophisticated arrangement for a manufacturer that would later become synonymous with robust and functional sports watches. The third generation of this remarkable family, the reference 6036, was introduced in the early 1950s and remains one of the most desirable vintage Rolex chronographs. Powered by the Valjoux-based calibre 72C, it combines three chronograph registers, twin calendar apertures and a central pointer date, all within an elegant 36 mm Oyster case. The model is affectionately known as the “Jean-Claude Killy”, after the legendary French skier who won three gold medals at the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble and maintained a longstanding association with Rolex, eventually serving on the company’s board of directors. Produced in relatively small numbers, particularly in stainless steel, these watches represent a fascinating chapter of Rolex’s history, when mechanical complexity stood alongside the manufacture’s pursuit of precision and reliability. The present example, with its attractive silvered dial with inlaid hour markers, contrasting blue calendar scale and stainless steel riveted expendable Oyster bracelet, beautifully illustrates the distinctive character of one of Rolex’s most celebrated vintage complication