Hodinkee Rolex Daytona Reference Points...

 

Hodinkee

Rolex Daytona Reference Points

Hodinkee's brilliant senior editor, Danny Milton, is joined by Rich Fordon who is Hodinkee's Vintage specialist, as they walk through the AMAZING history of the super-iconic Rolex Daytona. I HIGHLY recommend watching this SUPERB overview of the Rolex Daytona:

In the past I published an article named "The Complete History of The Rolex Daytona Cosmograph", that covered many aspects of the Rolex Daytona History. Also, Nick Gould published his epic story titled "Rolex's Road to Daytona...Rolex Racing Champions...The Evolution of The Rolex Racing Revolution", and I  have two anecdotes to add to what they discuss:

Point 1: The Rolex "COSMOGRAPH" designation that appeared on early Daytona models, made its debut on the Rolex Triple Date Moonphonase, and Rolex later repurposed in for the Daytona.

The following excerpt is from my story named "The Complete History of The Rolex Moonphase". It is interesting to note that in Rolex's advertisement the ref. 6062 was referred to as the 'COSMOGRAPH'. 

Point 2: I have been working for some time now on a dozen books that cover the entire Rolex history arc, and one of my books focuses on Rolex's Conquest for Speed, and covers the history of the Rolex Daytona. In the upcoming volume I will share previously undocumented insight on the origins of the Rolex Daytona, which is mind numbing!!! I plan to start rolling out my 12 volumes next year, with Volume 1 dropping in late Q1 of 2023, with each following volume releasing on a rolling quarterly basis, which means I expect to publish the final volume in Q4 of 2025.

Stefano Mazzariol: Rolex Reference 6234

Stefano Mazzariol

Rolex Chronograph: Grandfather Of The Rolex Daytona

[Reference 6234]

The Rolex Chronograph Reference 6234 was introduced in 1955–coincidentally, the same years Rolex introduced the Rolex GMT Master.

The Rolex Chronograph Reference 6234 was made from 1955 to 1961, and during those 6 years Rolex averaged approximately 500 per year. The Reference 6234 is the great grandfather of the modern stainless steel Rolex Daytona.

Joe Weatherly 1962 and 1963 NASCAR Champion Rolex Datejust

...Rolex NASCAR Racing History...

Joe Weatherly

1962 and 1963 NASCAR Champion

Rolex Datejust

2013 represents the 50th anniversary of the Rolex making the Rolex Daytona, but there are still many unanswered questions about the origins of the Rolex "Daytona" dial designation. This 1962 Rolex advertisement appeared in Car & Driver Magazine, and it offers clues. It is peculiar, since Rolex is showcasing the Datejust as the choice of a NASCAR champion, and not the Daytona!?!

Also, notice the ad states "Official Timepiece, Daytona International Speedway." Later in the year, I will shed more light on the significance of this. Joe Weatherly went on to win to also win the 1963 NASCAR Championship. Unfortunately "Little" Joe Weatherly was killed during in a racing accident during the 1964 Motor Trend 400 at Riverside Raceway. 

Rolex Daytona History...

Origin Of The Word "Cosmograph"

& The History of The Daytona Designation

I contributed to a fascinating conversation on RolexForums.com about the origin of the word "Cosmograph" and I learned some really fascinating facts from Larry who is a moderator who's handle is "Tools." (Larry lives in the Mojave Desert and currently has 12,344 posts!!!)

Larry wrote:

"Rolex registered the name Cosmograph in 1953, and as has been said, it was used on their Moonphase until 1956. Rolex used the simple "Chronograph" under the name on the standard 2 sub-dial models.

They began using Cosmograph on their three dialed Chronographs ..

They didn't start using the word "Daytona" on any watches until about 1962 when a few were given that additional name to capitalize on the growing hot-rod and especially NASCAR racing that was becoming popular.. In 1966 they were the official time-keeper at the NASCAR Daytona Race. You might say that Daytona was mostly a commemorative designation on the dial.

Cosmograph's can be found both with and without the "Daytona" on the dial all through the 60's and 70's....

After a few years, this simple name (Daytona) became the standard way of referring to the Rolex Cosmograph whether it was a Daytona or not.... so it wasn't until the late 70's or early 80's that Daytona badging started to appear on all Cosmo's."

I believe the photo below illustrates how the exact same model of Rolex Cosmograph which is a Chronograph appears with and without the "Daytona" designation. Thanks for sharing Larry. You can check out the thread on RolexForums.com by clicking here.

The two Rolex Chronographs [Reference 6263] pictured above are identical in every way except the one on the right has a Daytona Designation on the dial and the one on the left does not.