Rolex Daytona

The Daytona is the chronograph in the Rolex family. Sporty and functional, it's an icon of this Swiss manufacturer and was popularized by actor and racecar driver Paul Newman. It is one of the most coveted timepieces among watch enthusiasts.

Rolex introduced the Cosmograph Daytona to the market in 1963, one year after the first long-distance car race took place in Daytona. The chronograph watch was named after the famous racetrack in Daytona Beach, Florida, and is an anomaly for the Geneva-based brand most well-known for prestigious watches with three hands. Some of the manufacturer's most famous models are the Submariner and the Datejust.

When the company first presented the Cosmograph with the reference number 6239, the "Daytona" inscription had not yet made its way to the dial. With time, the name was added above the 12-hour counter at 6 o'clock on every watch. The extra large and easy-to-read tachymeter scale on the bezel allows the wearer to calculate speeds, further emphasizing the fact that the Cosmograph Daytona was developed for motorsport and racecar drivers. Every year, the winner of the 24-hour race in Daytona receives a Rolex Daytona with an engraved case back in honor of their achievement. These models are extremely rare, making them all the more desireable and expensive.

The 2016 Rolex Daytona with the reference number 116500LN costs approximately 20,500 USD in mint condition. Pre-owned models are just slightly less expensive at 20,000 USD. These prices are more than 6,100 USD above prices at retail shops; however, you also get to avoid the long wait of multiple months – if not years – that you would have with offline retailers. Stainless steel Rolex watches are generally quite highly coveted, thus making them a safe investment.

More recent models like the ref. 116520 are significantly more affordable than watches with less common reference numbers from the 1960s and 1970s. The 116520 was introduced at the turn of the millennium and replaced by the ref. 116500LN in 2016. At 19,300 USD, never-worn models of the previous edition are barely less expensive than the current version with a ceramic bezel. Prices for pre-owned examples of the former are quite a bit lower at 15,500 USD. In 2016, the list price for one of these watches was still around 13,500 USD. It's clear how much value the ref. 116520 has gained since then. The performance of the Daytona ref. 16520 is even more impressive. When it came to market in 1988, it was still outfitted with a heavily modified Zenith El Primero movement. Expect prices of around 23,500 USD for this timepiece.

So-called "Pre-Daytona" vintage watches are highly coveted among collectors and are extremely difficult to find. This is because these watches were produced before 1963 and only in relatively limited numbers. Even though Rolex first trademarked the name "Cosmograph" in the early 1950s, only the word "Chronograph" was written on the dials of the Pre-Daytonas. However, these watches never became a real hit since Rolex was already known for their chronographs and, in a rare move, opted to go with a caliber from a third party instead of their own. Gold examples with the reference number 6234 may cost more than 123,500 USD. Prices for the stainless steel versions come in at between 24,700 and 74,100 USD.

Buying Tips

• Stainless steel models with potential to appreciate in value
• Bicolor watches starting at 11,100 USD
• Gold and platinum Daytonas are much more affordable online
• Rare collector's watches: Paul Newman Daytona, Pre-Daytona
• Powered by the in-house caliber 4130 since 2000

The designers developed the Daytona for car racers. The original version of the watch included a chronograph function which measured periods of up to 12 hours. The 30-minute counter was at 3 o'clock and the small seconds counter was at 9 o'clock. It was well laid out and easy to read. The tachymeter scale on the bezel allowed for measurement of an average speed over a certain distance. Unlike other manufacturers, Rolex engraved a much larger scale on the bezel, then made of stainless steel.

The 1960s Daytona was powered by the manual winding Valjoux caliber 72. Production of these manually-wound watches ended in 1976 when Rolex presented the first automatic Daytona watches. The Geneva-based manufacturer introduced further improvements to their chronographs at Baselworld 1988. The automatic chronographs presented there were powered by the caliber 4030. This movement is based on the El Primero watch by Zenith, which vibrates at 36,000 alternations per hour (A/h).

Rolex watchmakers liked neither this higher frequency of 5 Hz nor the El Primero's date display. Therefore, they completely reworked the Zenith caliber. The design engineers ended up rebuilding almost half of the movement's components. For example, the balance wheel now oscillates at 28,000 A/h. The well-known Breguet balance spring was also added to the caliber. The movement is regulated via the usual Rolex system of Microstella nuts, which are located on the inner side of the now larger balance wheel. This is unlike most standard movements, which are regulated via a so-called regulator. The steel versions were the most sought after, resulting in incredibly long waiting lists. They're still just as popular today.

The Daytona is on par with chronographs from other manufacturers. Competitors include the Speedmaster from Omega and the Carrera from TAG Heuer. The Speedmaster Professional, also known as the Moonwatch, is one of the Daytona's biggest rivals and a part of the Speedmaster collection. This Omega watch was originally developed for car racing but ended up finding its way to the moon. It was the official watch of NASA for the Apollo 11 mission and accompanied Buzz Aldrin when he stepped foot on the moon in 1969.

A TAG Heuer watch was the first Swiss watch to make it to space. In 1962, with a Heuer watch on his wrist, the astronaut John Glenn became the first American to orbit Earth. The most well-known chronographs from this La Chaux-de-Fonds-based company include the Carrera, which Heuer introduced in 1963. The watch was named after the Rallye Carrera Panamericana car race. Within a short amount of time, the watch established itself as a worldwide success.