Film director Spike Lee spotted wearing a Rolex

Spike Lee, the Academy Award-winning director behind Do the Right Thing and Malcolm X, was recently spotted wearing a Rolex Daytona reference 6240, one of the most consequential and sought-after references in the entire Daytona production history. For a man whose personal style has long functioned as a cultural statement, the choice is characteristically deliberate.

The Rolex Daytona ref. 6240 was produced from approximately 1965 to 1969, representing a pivotal transitional moment for the model. It was the first Daytona to incorporate screw-down chronograph pushers — a functional upgrade that brought genuine water resistance to the case and set the mechanical standard for every Daytona that followed. The 37mm stainless steel case houses the manually wound Valjoux 72B caliber, a reliable and well-regarded ebauche that Rolex regulated and cased with characteristic precision. Dials on the 6240 came in a range of configurations, including the now-legendary exotic or "Paul Newman" dials, which command extraordinary premiums on the secondary market today.

From a collector's standpoint, the 6240 occupies rarefied territory. It predates the more commonly seen ref. 6263 and 6265, and its relatively short production window means surviving examples in good condition are genuinely scarce. Purists prize the 6240 for its lug shape, the transition-era crown guard geometry, and the variety of tritium dial configurations it offered. Examples with original exotic dials routinely achieve seven-figure results at major auction houses.

Spike Lee has never been shy about wearing pieces with cultural and historical weight — from his iconic Air Jordans to his custom-tailored suits at Knicks games. A vintage Rolex Daytona ref. 6240 fits that aesthetic framework precisely: understated to the uninitiated, immediately legible to anyone who knows watches.

On the grey market, a standard-dial Rolex Daytona ref. 6240 in solid condition typically trades between $80,000 and $150,000 depending on dial originality, case sharpness, and provenance. Exotic dial examples can reach multiples of that figure. There is no current retail price, as the reference has been out of production for over five decades.