Rolex are known around the world as being one of the very best designers of luxury lifestyle watches seen on the wrists of some of the most prestigious individuals around the world. One of the most famous of these is the Daytona. Rolex first introduced their chronograph watches in 1973, over the decades they featured the Valjoux movements but initially their success was very limited. However in 1960 the brand gave the watch a major facelift when they introduced the Cosmograph. The main difference to the watches was the tachymeter scale that was engraved on the bezel as opposed to the outer rim of the watch on the dial. One year later the company released the 6241 model which was very similar and gained the name of the Daytona. The watch was named after Daytona Beach which is home to some of the very best names when it comes to car racing. The watches quickly became a luxury item being a popular choice on the racing circuit as they were very useful for helping to calculate average speed on laps.

The early models of the Rolex Daytona were released in a number of configurations when it came to the dial. Two of the most popular were the exotic dials consisting of black with white and cream with black registers being designed with square markers set within the registers. When actor Paul Newman was seen with one of these on his wrist these configurations quickly became the very best designs of watches and were in very high demand on the Italian market. It is thought the watch was a gift from his wife when Newman entered

Editorial | Image Courtesy Of Rolex