The Most Coveted Rolex Daytona Can't Be Bought, it Can Only Be Won

The Rolex Daytona is among the most recognizable watches in the world, most famously worn by the late, great actor, race car driver and philanthropist Paul Newman In 1962, three years after the Daytona International Speedway opened, Rolex became the track's official timekeeper While the 6239 included many of the hallmarks of the Daytona - the tachymeter scale now moved to a steel bezel, three sub-dials in a contrasting color, a hand-wound Valjoux 72B movement - it didn't yet feature the word "Daytona" anywhere on the watch, which simply read "Rolex Cosmograph" When Rolex did decide to give the chronograph a name, in 1964, it wasn't actually "Daytona," it was "Le Mans," after the famous French endurance race.

The legendary Rolex Daytona was finally, officially born In 1988, Rolex upgraded the Daytona with an automatic caliber from Zenith, based on that company's famed El Primero movement In 2000 Rolex began production of a third series of Daytonas featuring in-house Rolex movements and six-digit serial numbers.

In 2016 Rolex introduced reference 116500LN, featuring a ceramic bezel, which is the current Daytona production model in steel. . Source