We can safely say the Rolex Daytona is the most recognized and sought after watch of all time!
Rolex introduced the Daytona in 1963, in hopes of competing with Omega's Speedmaster and capturing racing fans. The name is borrowed directly from arguably the most famous race in the world, the Daytona 500.
Not a hit at first, Rolex introduced reference 6234 in 1955. They only produced approximately 500 units of this reference before discontinuing it in 1961. The watch sold for $200, imagine having a few of these today!
Reference 6239 attracted celebrities in the late 1960's. Paul Newman wasn’t just an actor, he was also an outstandingly successful race car driver. He even had his own racing stable. His Daytona watch accompanied him on his races. In the 1980's, collectors gave the nickname “Paul Newman” to this style of Daytona, which can be recognized chiefly by the colored seconds scale along the dial’s periphery.
His watch sold at auction for over $17 million in 2017,
There is so much to talk about when it comes to Rolex, especially the history of the Daytona.
Stay tuned for more on this subject in the weeks to come!