Everything you want to know about Rolex Daytona

Almost every watch collector that has a passion for Rolex splits the collections in two parts: Daytonas and all the others.
Let's see why this timepiece is so popular among connoisseurs .
History
So the cosmographs appeared in the 1930s, but only in 1963 the line first received a name. And no, it wasn't Daytona.
Its primal title for this racing-inspired timepiece was Rolex LeMans . Unfortunatelly, the name wasn't catchy enough in the American market, so they wanted a new name, with history and power. As they were the official sponsors of the 24 hr race at Daytona, this name fit the line as a glove, or, better said, as a perfect wrist(watch).

A 50 year anniversary release
3 Series
The Cosmograph Daytona released 3 important series:
1.The original series, that were produced from 1963 to the end of the 1980s in small quantities. Their principal features were the four-digits reference number and manual wind movements.
2. Until the '90s the supply was almost over, so the company produced a new series in 1988. It was characterised by a five-digits model number and by the utilization of a Zenith El Primero transformed automatic winding movement. The movement was launched in 1969 and it had 36,000 VPH. Rolex bought it and introduced slight changes from 36k to 28,800 VPH. This second series were produced until 2000.
3. The final series started from 2000 and is distinguished by the six-digit numbers and an original Rolex movement.
A white gold luxury Daytona
Paul Newman
There is a pair that couldn't be completed one without the other: Paul Newman and Rolex Daytona. Though Daytona was met especially at racecar drivers, this iconic actor had a deep passion for this collection. He is the consacrated symbol of the line because he wore his Daytona absolutely every day, from 1972 until his last breath in 2008. That's what I call a real watch lover.

Paul Newman wearing his much beloved Daytona

Its Bezel

A feature which is worth mentioning it's about the way Daytona's bezel was numbered throught its history.

Daytona's bezel was first graduated to 300 units per hour starting from 1963 until about late 1960s, when they started to number it until 200.
One specific trait of its earliest models was that the bezels were marked at 275, followed by the “300″ while the rest of the bezel is graduated the whole way around.

Notice how this vintage Daytona 6239 from the 1963 series is numbered up to 300 while the model is only up to 200.

The Dial

We all know that a luxury watch differentiate itself from other timepieces due to its perfectly assembeled technical and artistic details. Everything should be exceptionally accurate; Daytona is one of the most exact line, putting to shame other brands.
The 1963 vintage Daytona models don't have a Daytona signature, but do have a minuscule silvery hashtag written under the “cosmograph”.

Also you can frequently meet a double swiss signature, one in the bottom of the dial, and the other written smaller and even more down near the edge of the dial.

Bekijk meer Rolex horloges en chopard las strada horloges