An icon that defies time…Celebrating 60 years of the Daytona
The accomplished performance of the Oyster Perpetual Cosmograph Daytona makes it an icon of its time – and goes well beyond the motor racing circuits where it was first established.
To celebrate its 60th anniversary, the Swiss brand has revisited the range and reworked making changes to the case, face and movement, for a “pursuit in excellence that has no finish line”.
In 1963 the cosmograph was released – the time of the human race to space. While the Daytona conquested sea and land it never made space.
But the word Daytona didn’t actually make it onto the dial for a few years. Over the decades we’ve seen steel bezels, different scales, dial variations including red and modified movements.
But while it’s a great choice for an investment watch now, the Daytona hasn’t always been popular. In the early days, people preferred the Submariner and Day-Date – plus Rolex wasn’t as established in chronographs so people would probably look to Breitling or Zenith first.
Over time the Daytona started to attract attention, especially when actor Paul Newman decided to wear one. He became interested in motorsport when filming ‘Winning’, even racing professionally. His wife bought him a 6239 to celebrate – and fans started to notice.
Newman’s watch became the most expensive watch ever sold at auction in 2021, when it went under the hammer for $17.7 million.
New Oyster Perpetual Cosmograph Daytona
Hopes were high that Rolex was going to offer a stunning titanium Daytona to mark the event.
Whilst it’s not to be and we can’t say we’re not a tad disappointed, they have released six sparkling new versions of the Oyster Perpetual Cosmograph Daytona with updated proportions and a new movement.
These include ones in platinum and Everrose gold, as well as two plain Oystersteel versions – one with a white face and one black. Then we have two Oystersteel and yellow gold versions; one with a white and one with a gold face.
But there’s still a little while until you can get your hands on one as they aren’t released until August.
New features
Each watch features the new Rolex movement for 2023, the calibre 4131 – an evolution of the in-house calibre 4130 debuted in 2000. The movement now incorporates the brand’s Chronergy escapement for greater efficiency and Paraflex shock absorbers for superior impact resistance, with an impressive 72-hour power reserve.
In true brand style, most of the core external design has been carried from the last generation. The case still measures 40mm although the lugs are redesigned. They’re now much wider for a larger and more modern overall appearance.
The new versions feature restyled, longer and thinner hour markers and counter rings, plus redesigned lugs and case sides. As with all modern Rolex watches, blue-glowing Chromalight is used on the hands and markers.
The 950 platinum watches come exclusively with an ice blue dial and an oscillating weight made from 18k yellow gold and now feature screw-down display casebacks.
Dial options tend to be the same as previous years but the dial has received subtle updates for aesthetics and legibility.
Straps, bezel, and bracelet options are similar to past versions. The stainless steel, two-tone, and platinum models are exclusively offered on Oyster bracelets while the three solid gold editions come on Oysterflex or Oyster bracelets.
Can our Rolex experts assist?
If you’re looking for a great investment watch, we can help. We’re also interested in buying your preloved Daytona and offer competitive prices, subject to an assessment by our team.
If you’d like our free advice, contact us today.