Rolex Daytona

Watch model by Rolex

The Rolex Cosmograph Daytona is a mechanical chronograph wristwatch designed to meet the needs of racing drivers by measuring elapsed time and calculating average speed. Its name refers to Daytona, Florida, where racing flourished in the early 20th century. It has been manufactured by Rolex since 1963 in four distinct generations (or series); the second series was introduced in 1988, the third in 2000 and the fourth in 2023. While cosmetically similar, the second series introduced a self winding movement (the first series is hand wound), and the third series brought manufacture of the movement in house to Rolex. The first series included an "exotic" variant dial now known as the Rolex "Paul Newman" Daytona, named after the famed actor, who received the watch as a gift from his wife, Joanne Woodward, and popularized it by wearing it consistently while pursuing his racing career. Years later, the actor's watch, which had been gifted to his daughter's boyfriend in 1984, was sold in 2017 at the Phillips New York Winning Icons auction for a record (for wristwatches) $17.8 million. With a 40mm case, it is available in a variety of materials, including 18 karat gold as in the ref. 116598 timepiece owned by Elton John which sold at auction for $176,400.

There have been three series of the Cosmograph Daytona. Prior to the release of the "Daytona", Rolex produced chronographs using movements sourced from outside manufacturers housed in conventional and, starting in the 1940s, Oyster cases. Rolex introduced a more modern chronograph in 1955, designated Reference 6234, and manufactured approximately 500 per year until 1961, the year it was discontinued. The dial of Reference 6234 was not marked "Cosmograph" or "Daytona". Each Rolex Daytona watch has a unique serial number, which is typically a 4 8 digit number engraved between the lugs on the 6 o'clock side of the case, behind the bracelet. The serial number can provide valuable information about the watch, including its production date. For instance, a Rolex watch with a serial number starting with 28000 was produced in 1926. Reference 6234 has three smaller sub dials, to mark the passage of seconds up to 60 seconds (at the 9 o'clock position), minutes up to 30 minutes (at the 3 o'clock position), and hours up to 12 hours (at the 6 o'clock position); all of these match the color of the main dial. It also featured a tachymeter scale on the outer chapter ring, and a telemeter chronograph scale on the inner chapter ring. Reference 6234 was succeeded by Reference 6238, which dropped the telemeter scale and updated its appearance to include many features that would be adopted for its successor Reference 6239. In addition to the chronograph features, the wristwatch featured a bezel engraved with a tachymeter, as the watch was intended for racing drivers. The movement is essential to distinguish the original series from the later two series, as the other two movements are self wound. Reference 6240 introduced these "Oyster" features to the Cosmograph Daytona in 1965, but the "Oyster" Daytonas were manufactured in parallel with other models which retained the plain pushers until 1972. Various models of the original series could also be distinguished by different bezel materials. References 6263 and 6265 (produced from 1970) were Oyster versions. The movement used remained based on the manual wind Valjoux Calibre 72, but with some refinements, and was called the Rolex Calibre 727. These Daytonas are very rare and very collectible. The movement has proven to be exceptionally reliable and accurate. In fact, the Cal. 727 was certified as a chronometer in some cases. Cosmetically, original series Daytonas carried sub dials in a single color that contrasted with the color of the main dial (i. e., both variants: a black dial with white sub dials, and a white dial with black sub dials), The word "Daytona" was added below the 12 o'clock "Rolex Cosmograph" signature in 1964, then moved to a position above the 6 o'clock (hours) sub dial by 1967. By 2005, Newman had replaced it with a Reference 6263 Daytona with a conventional dial, also a gift, bearing the inscription "DRIVE SLOWLY, JOANNE". The second Daytona was reportedly purchased in 1984, which prompted Newman to gift the first Daytona to his daughter's boyfriend, James Cox, that year.

This original series was in very short supply by the early 1990s, which led to a second series to meet demand, introduced in 1988 with Reference 16520. The second series uses a modified automatic winding movement, originally manufactured by Zenith for their "El Primero" watch, designated by Zenith as Calibre 3019PHC. The movement was originally designed in 1969 after development commenced in 1962 and remains the highest VPH (vibrations per hour) mass produced chronograph movement on the market at 36,000 VPH. After Zenith was sold to the American company of the same name in 1971, the company discontinued production of mechanical movements in 1975. However, Charles Vermot, a senior engineer for Martel Watch Company (where the El Primero was made, and which had been acquired in 1959 by Zenith) had, over a period of months, secretly disassembled the tooling for the El Primero and stored it in the factory attic after the closure had been announced in 1975. After Zenith Radio resold Zenith in 1978, Ebel decided to purchase some unassembled Calibre 3019PHC movements in 1981, which Zenith assembled out of leftover spare parts. These later series Daytonas, pre dating in house movements, were accurate and reliable; they were produced in limited quantities from 1988 to 2000. The second series uses a five digit Reference number. The "Chairman Daytona" was created in 1991 as a variant of Reference 16528; it has a galvanised blue dial and the tachymeter markings go to 400 units/hr. Two second series Daytonas were sold with leather straps: Reference 16518 (yellow gold) and 16519 (white gold). Reference 116520. Externally, the third series may be distinguished by close examination of the dial; the two sub dials at the 3 and 9 o'clock positions are now slightly above an imaginary line drawn between the 3 and 9 o'clock chapters, and the running seconds sub dial has been relocated from the 9 o'clock position to the 6 o'clock position. Stainless steel variants of the Daytona remain very difficult to acquire, and a waiting list exists for interested purchasers of new watches, as production is limited to a few thousand per year.

One of the rarest Daytonas are those with what has been called the "exotic" or "Paul Newman" dial. It is said that Newman wore one of these watches, given to him by his wife Joanne Woodward when he took up automobile racing, from 1972. It is estimated that only one in twenty Daytonas were equipped with the "exotic" dial because they were slow to sell,

Its distinguishing features are subtle. First, a Paul Newman dial must be in an original series watch (with a four digit Reference number), installed by Rolex Geneva as original. All of the original series had acrylic domed crystals. In addition, the sub dials of a "Paul Newman" Daytona have block markers instead of plain lines, have crosshairs across each sub dial meeting at the centre, and the seconds sub dial (placed at 9:00) is marked at the 15, 30, 45 and 60 positions, whereas a normal Daytona seconds sub dial is marked at 20, 40 and 60. The dial may or may not have the word "Daytona" written on the dial above the hour sub dial located at 6:00. The dial came in four color and layout combinations, and was installed as an option by Rolex on the Daytona line of watches in the original series. The watch went out of production in the early 1970s, and Rolex does not supply any replacement version of it. The outer track of the main dial is finished in a contrasting color that matches the color of the sub dials. The typeface used on the sub dials is different as well. Since the dials were made by Singer for Rolex, there are contemporary watches from other manufacturers which feature the same "exotic" dial. The earliest "Paul Newman" Daytonas are Reference 6239 model watches, which use a black or white dial, and are known as three color watches, as they have the name "Daytona" and hashmarks on the outer track painted in red. Cox, who put the watch up for auction in 2017, said that Newman gave him the watch in 1984 as a gift after offering to repair the treehouse at the Newman home in Westport, Connecticut. The original Daytona watches were not in demand when produced, and were relatively inexpensive ($210 + tax when introduced), but later became highly collectible and fetched high prices at auction. In 1988, a stainless "Paul Newman" Daytona (Ref. 6241) was listed in an auction catalog with an estimated closing price of $3,000 to $3,500.

On 26 October 2017, a Rolex Daytona (Ref. 6239) watch formerly owned by the actor Paul Newman was sold for US$17.75 million in New York City, making it the second most expensive wristwatch and the third most expensive watch ever sold at auction (as of July 2020). The final price of $17,752,500 for the "Paul Newman" Daytona Ref. 6239 was the sum of the winning auction bid ($15.5 million) and a buyer's premium of 12.5%. The model was sold by Phillips in association with Bacs & Russo in New York City, as part of the "WINNING ICONS: Milestone Watches of the 20th Century" auction. The watch, called the "Holy Grail" or "Amber Room" of watches and long presumed lost, had been "found" earlier in 2017. Aurel Bacs, the auctioneer, remarked "The first question you ask when you get interested in vintage watches is, 'Where is Paul Newman's Paul Newman [Daytona]?' Everyone knows that by the mid '80s Newman is no longer wearing it, and nobody knows where it is. There is hardly a dinner with collectors where the conversation does not turn to this watch. Where is it, and how much will it make if it ever comes to market?" Bacs himself was initially skeptical, but was humbled "to discover that a collector had told the owners that there was only one person, and one auction house that could do the job properly" of auctioning the rare watch, leading James Cox to hire Bacs. Bidding opened at $1 million, but as the commission bid was being announced, it was interrupted by a $10 M bid, which was raised in increments of $500,000 until it was finally sold at the winning $15.5 M bid. In 1984, when Newman gave the watch to James Cox, the watch was selling for about $200. Cox announced his plans to donate a significant portion of the proceeds to the Nell Newman Foundation and Newman's Own Foundation.