

These four-digit Daytona references included 37mm cases, tachymeter bezels, a pair of chronograph pushers, and dials with three contrasting colored subdials. This generation of the Rolex Daytona, which ran from 1963 until 1988, comprised of manual-wound models equipped with modified Valjoux chronograph movements with a column wheel and a horizontal clutch.

Today, the Rolex Cosmograph Daytona is simply known as the Daytona.

The Daytona name hadn’t joined the Rolex lexicon yet-that would occur about a year later when Rolex wanted to align the Cosmograph with the Daytona Speedway in Florida to emphasize the chronograph’s link to motorsports. The story of the Daytona began in 1963 when Rolex launched a new chronograph model called the Cosmograph. How did the Rolex Daytona evolve? The Manual-Wind Rolex Daytona: 1963 – 1988 Let’s have a closer look at the evolution of the Rolex Daytona from its origins to today. Early versions of the Daytona were slow-selling models for Rolex and it took a major redesign in the 1980s and a favorable celebrity connection around the same time to change the chronograph’s course to stake its claim at the top. Regardless, the Rolex Daytona is still the one that most watch enthusiasts want to wear. Yes, other chronograph watches have journeyed to the moon and other brands made their mark on horology history by presenting the world’s first automatic chronographs to the market. It’s been said countless times before but the Rolex Daytona is without a doubt the most famous and coveted luxury chronograph out there.
