From a visual perspective, the fake Rolex reference 6202 watches very closely resembles some of the very early pre-crown guard Submariners, such as the reference 6204 and the reference 6205. When given some chronological context, the resemblance makes perfect sense, given that the reference 6202 was the foundation onto which Rolex would build their iconic and highly successful Submariner line of dive watches.
Due to the less-standardized production process of the time, the reference 6202 saw a variety of different dial variations; and the 6202-reference number was also used for watches that were branded under Rolex’s Monometer line. The Monometer was produced for a very short period of time and very few examples were manufactured. Other than the name on the dial, the reference 6202 Monometer was identical to the reference 6202 Turn-O-Graph, and both watches can be considered the precursors to Rolex’s Submariner.
In all actuality, the reference 6202 can be considered the precursor to several different Rolex watches that are now held in high regard by vintage collectors. In addition to being the forerunner to both the Submariner and Turn-O-Graph/Thunderbird lines of watches, the reference 6202 was also the foundation for the very first Rolex Milgauss.
While the contemporary Milgauss more closely resembles an Oyster Perpetual or Datejust, the very first Milgauss (the reference 6541) was largely based on the design of the original reference 6202 Turn-O-Graph. Although the Milgauss lost its sixty-minute demarcated bezel in subsequent iterations, it was the reference 6202 that was initially chosen by Rolex to be the foundation for their anti-magnetic line of watches.
The Rolex reference 6202 Turn-O-Graph replica watches represents the beginning of Rolex’s rotating bezel tool watches and is actually credited as being their first serially-produced watch with a rotating bezel. While it was not the very first Rolex watch ever fitted with a rotating bezel – that credit would go to the reference 3346 from 1937 of which only seven to twelve examples were manufactured – the reference 6202 Turn-O-Graph is the watch that ultimately would go on to evolve into a number of Rolex’s most famous and renowned lines of sport watches.