Rolex Chronograph 6238

A stainless steel Rolex Chronograph wristwatch, ref. 6238 was worn by James Bond (George Lazenby) in the movie On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969).

This watch was purchased by Eon Productions for George Lazenby at Bucherer Interlaken on October 23rd 1968, to wear as Bond when, undercover as genealogist Sir Hilary Bray, he infiltrates Blofeld's research institute, Piz Gloria, in the Swiss Alps. The watch was supposed to have been redesigned to be a compass and the red seconds hand was the compass hand to guide James Bond. 

At the end of filming, the wardrobe department sold off some of the costumes and accessories from the film and this watch was purchased by the production accountant at the time. The actual watch was sold for £23,400.00 / $41,000.00 at an auction at Christies London, 16th December 2003. In 2008, the watch was resold to a new owner, and in July 2016 it was announced to be auctioned by Artcurial (but no details have emerged of that sale since) and once more at Antiquorum in 2019, but no final sale info is available for that auction either.

It's not the only Rolex he wears in the film. During the scene where Bond breaks into the safe while reading Playboy magazine, we can see a Rolex Submariner, probabaly a 5513 model. 

Rolex and James Bond have a strong connection. Before Omega started supplying the watches for 007, James Bond used a Rolex Submariner in several movies: Dr. No, From Russia With Love, Goldfinger, Thunderball, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Live and Let Die, The Man with the Golden Gun, Licence to Kill and The Living Daylights.

In the books of Ian Fleming, James Bond wears a Rolex Oyster Perpetual, but not many details are given by Fleming which makes it hard to identify the exact model specifications of the watch.

Thanks to Chuck for the alert