The Original Panda Chronograph?

[lhooq]

What was the first chronograph (either two or three registers) to feature subdials in contrasting colors? The question came up in another rep forum, but no one answered it. I'm interested in what the more historically-minded members of RWG-Rolex think.

The 6239 Daytona is iconic, but I think it may have been pre-dated by something in the Universal Compax line. Am I on the right track, or was there an even earlier "panda"?

[alligoat]

There is a picture of a 6238 in 'Rolex Daytona', an early one, with a black dial and white/silver subdials. This would be in the 800,000+ SN range, around 1962-3. Around 1,000,000 (1964) on they were all silver or all black dials.

[lhooq]

There is a picture of a 6238 in 'Rolex Daytona', an early one, with a black dial and white/silver subdials. This would be in the 800,000+ SN range, around 1962-3. Around 1,000,000 (1964) on they were all silver or all black dials.

Is it marked "Chronograph" or "Cosmograph"? I have a feeling all the panda 6238s were Cosmos, and that the dials originated with the 6239. Maybe when the Daytona was first released, Rolex felt it needed to spice up its staid, 50s-styled, 6238 Anti-Magnetic.

[alligoat]

The 6238 pictured in 'Rolex Daytona, a legend is born' is simply labeled Rolex. Below the 6 o'clock subdial it says -T Swiss T-. There is also no tachometer scale- just minute hash marks with 4 smaller marks between each minute marker. The text says, "The second and more rare series, with two toned dials and serial numbers up to approximately 950,000, forecasts what would become the more sporty Rolex COSMOGRAPH ref. 6239."