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.
