Rolex Cosmograph Daytona  Watches

Rolex Cosmograph Daytona: A Watch Born to Race 

As mentioned, the Rolex Cosmograph Daytona collection, or simply the Rolex Daytona, was designed by Rolex to be a dedicated series of watches for professional race car drivers. Its features are specially designed to meet the needs of these professionals, from measuring elapsed time to reading average speed over a given distance. While the watches are geared towards racing, the Cosmograph Daytona collection has garnered an even bigger audience with its Paul Newman Daytona exotic dials and the newly released 2021 collections that are now being eyed by collectors. 

Price List at a Glance: The Most Popular Rolex Cosmograph Daytona Watches

How much is a Rolex Daytona? 

Rolex has a reputation of being a luxury watch brand, which means that its asking prices can go up to as high as six digits. But for starters, how much does a classic Rolex Daytona watch cost and how expensive can it get as its features, functions, and designs go above and beyond? 

If you wish to dive into the Daytona collection, a starting classic piece to check out is stainless steel in automatic version, the Rolex Cosmograph Daytona Stainless Steel in Black Dial. This model has an oyster steel casing with a black dial and an Oyster bracelet, making it exude a very sleek and classic aura. The watch also features a black Cerachrom bezel with a tachymetric scale and is priced at $38,769 USD. If you prefer a more monochromatic look, this version is also available in white: Rolex Cosmograph Daytona Stainless Steel in White Dial.

For those looking for a little touch of color, the Rolex Cosmograph Daytona Platinum has an ice-blue dial and an oyster bracelet that features a chestnut brown cerachrom bezel with a tachymetric scale. The sophisticated ice blue dial is an exclusive signature of Rolex to their platinum watches and is often priced at $169,419 USD. Another blue-dialed watch to check out comes in an 18K white gold casing along with a bright blue dial and an Oyster bracelet. It also has an 18K white gold bezel with an engraved tachymetric scale. This watch is priced at $56,399 USD. 

Rolex also offers the highest quality of 18K gold alloys. One example is their Rolex Cosmograph Daytona 18K Yellow Gold, made of oyster steel and yellow gold. This watch also comes with a black dial and an Oyster bracelet, featuring an 18K yellow gold bezel with an engraved tachymetric scale and is priced at $28,399 USD.

Meanwhile, Rolex has also just released their newest Cosmograph Daytona models. The Cosmograph Daytona 18K Everose Gold is one of the new models, featuring an 18K Everose gold case that is exclusively patented by Rolex. This watch also features a meteorite and black dial and an Oyster bracelet with an 18K Everose gold bezel and engraved tachymetric scale. The watch is priced at $60,259 USD. 

The New Rolex Cosmograph Daytona 2021 Models 

Rolex has just recently released three limited versions of Cosmograph Daytona in 2021 that highlights a new meteorite dial in 18K white gold, 18K yellow gold, and 18K everose gold. The Rolex Cosmograph Daytona White Gold has black monobloc Cerachrom bezel in ceramic and a molded tachymetric scale. Meanwhile, the Rolex Cosmograph Daytona Yellow Gold has an 18K yellow gold bezel, and the Rolex Cosmograph Daytona Everose Gold has 18K Everose gold, both with an engraved tachymetric scale instead. All three are equipped with high-performance functions and movements, as well as quality bracelets and clasp. Prices range from $48,000 USD to $68,000 USD.

Is the Rolex Cosmograph Daytona a good investment?

It is undeniably true that Rolex watches are good investments especially for watch aficionados out there. Apart from investing in something highly functional and reliable, the Rolex Cosmograph Daytona has features that can withstand the test of time. Thus, these timepieces are often seen by collectors as a good investment considering that the value of  luxury watches generally goes up over time. 

Take the Paul Newman Daytona as an example. The watch was auctioned in 2017 as the most expensive watch ever sold with $17.8 Million USD in value. While not all luxury watches can have higher values in years, the Rolex Cosmograph Daytona and how it is being received by people today has a greater chance of raising its value even higher as years go by. 

The Paul Newman Daytona

The Paul Newman Daytona was first introduced in the 1960s after famous professional racer Paul Newman was seen sporting the Ref. 6239 Daytona gifted to him by his wife during his races. Soon after, Newman gifted the watch to his daughter’s boyfriend, James Cox who eventually had the iconic watch in auction breaking a record as the most expensive watch sold at $17,752,500 USD. 

The auction for the Paul Newman Daytona watch made huge noise all over the world, leaving more people curious and collectors interested in scoring their own Paul Newman Daytona watches. But how do you spot a Paul Newman Daytona exotic dial in a Rolex? These dials are often found in Refs. 6239, 6241, 6262, 6263, 6264, and 6265, but not all models have exotic dials on them. To differentiate a normal Daytona and a Paul Newman Daytona, three characteristics must be present: a tri-colored dial, an art deco style font, and harsh marks with small squares to the subsidiary dial. 

Vintage Rolex Cosmograph Daytona Watches 

Vintage Daytonas, also known as “Pre-Daytonas”, are rare timepieces that date back around the 1950s and 1960s before the first few Daytonas were produced. The Oyster Chronograph Ref. 6234 is one of the first timepieces before Daytonas, with just over 2,000 pieces carved. making it the most-prized vintage Daytona watch today that is desired by a lot of watch collectors. 

Then, around the 1960s, Rolex released its first Daytona, which is better known as the Oyster Chronograph Ref. 6239, This watch garnered a good reputation and the attention of Paul Newman after being gifted one by his wife. 

To pay homage to Paul Newman, Rolex subsequently released a watch bearing his name. This one was almost the same as the regular Daytona with the exception of its dial. Today, both the Daytona and the Paul Newman Daytona are collector’s favorites, with high prices matching their value.

While the original Paul Newman Daytona watch may not be the most highly functional Daytona to date, the value of this watch has multiplied over the years mainly because of its exotic dial design and the involvement of Paul Newman as its owner. 

History Behind the Rolex Cosmograph Daytona

The Rolex Cosmograph Daytona was first introduced in 1963 as an iconic piece for professional race car drivers, named after Daytona, Florida, where racing was prominent. The Rolex Cosmograph Daytona was built for the racing community. For certified racers, this collection is, indeed, the best timepiece to score. The collection is designed to meet the needs of professional drivers where they can measure elapsed time and use the bezel that features a tachymetric scale to help them read average speed over a given distance based on elapsed time. 

The collection is equipped with caliber 4130, a self-winding mechanical chronograph, and features functions such as a tachymetric scale in the bezel that helps drivers measure elapsed time and read average speeds on top of a high-performance chronograph. Apart from its functionality, the collection is designed with various metals such as Oystersteel, Oyster Steel and gold, Pink gold, Yellow gold, White gold, and Platinum. 

Five reasons to Buy a Rolex Cosmograph Daytona watch 

• The Rolex Cosmograph Daytona watch is born for professional race car drivers.
• The Rolex Cosmograph Daytona is one of the hottest and most in-demand collections now.
• The Rolex Cosmograph Daytona features a caliber 4130 that has a certified chronometer title that guarantees a high level of precision in timekeeping materials. 
• Rolex watches are always a good investment but Cosmograph Daytona is the next generation collection that is worth investing in.
• The Rolex Cosmograph Daytona is the newest collection featuring sleek and stylish designs, metals, colors, and diamonds.

Famous Patrons of the Rolex Daytona Watch

The Rolex Daytona Collection has been a popular watch for years now especially after these pieces were worn by artists during TV appearances, music-related shows, and other public appearances. Although it is classified as a men’s luxury watch, the collection didn’t fail to grab the attention of Victoria Beckham, who was seen sporting a rose gold Rolex Daytona Ref 116528. Meanwhile, Ellen De Generes and Ed Sheeran were both spotted wearing the Paul Newman Ref. 6241. 

Other personalities and celebrities who wore the classic Rolex Daytona collections were Michael Jordan, wearing a platinum Ref. 116506 Daytona, and Jay Z, wearing a Ref. 116500LN with an ultra-modern Cerachrom ceramic bezel. 

Everybody Loves the Daytona

The Rolex Cosmograph Daytona is the latest watch collection from Rolex that everyone is eyeing for right now most especially after the brand has dropped its 2021 collections that boast high-quality gold alloys. But whether it may be the newest timepieces in the market or the oldest and most vintage collection under its wing, the Rolex Cosmograph Daytona has made a legendary mark in the watchmaking industry as a professional racer’s ultimate watch. The collection provides highly functional and reliable materials from high-performance chronographs to stylish designs embellished with golds and diamonds, giving the models an elegant and sophisticated finish that surely appeals even to non-collectors.