Cosmograph Daytona

The Cosmograph Daytona debuted in 1963 with reference 6239, the first Rolex chronograph to carry the "Daytona" name. The name comes from Daytona Beach, Florida, a historic motor-racing venue since the early years of the twentieth century and, from 1962, home to the Daytona International Speedway, for which Rolex became the official timekeeper: a link with the world of racing that the brand celebrated the following year by introducing this chronograph designed for drivers, fitted with a tachymetric bezel for calculating average lap speeds.

For the first twenty-five years the line was powered by manually wound movements based on the Valjoux 72, reworked by Rolex as Calibre 722 and later 727. Only in 1988 did the first automatic version arrive, based on a Zenith manufacture movement derived from the famous El Primero, modified by Rolex and renamed Calibre 4030. The most important turning point came in 2000, when Rolex introduced Calibre 4130, the first automatic chronograph movement entirely designed and produced in-house, with a simplified architecture and greater reliability: since then every version of the Daytona has used Rolex's own manufacture movements.

Among the historic references, the 6239 with "exotic" dial — featuring sub-dials with contrasting borders and cross-hair markers — became famous as the "Paul Newman Daytona," named after the actor and racing driver who received one as a gift from his wife Joanne Woodward and wore it extensively during his motor-racing activities. That very watch, which belonged personally to Newman, was sold at auction in October 2017 for 17.75 million dollars, temporarily becoming the most expensive wristwatch ever sold publicly. The more recent steel versions have introduced, since 2016, the Cerachrom ceramic tachymetric bezel, after the material had already been adopted on other models in the Rolex range.