Daytona (Daytona) is the name of a city in Florida. At the beginning of the last century, its wide and smooth compacted sandy beaches attracted motor sports enthusiasts and is an ideal place to try to record land speeds.
In 1936, the first racing race was held on the Daytona Beach (Daytona Beach) road circuit, and in 1958 it was founded by the National Motorsports Association (NASCAR) to establish the Daytona 500 Speedway-the most prestigious Daytona International Speedway. The game is in Nazca. With its inclined design, Daytona International Speedway allows higher speeds and provides fans with a better view.
But the real father of Daytona is the reference number 6238, especially the second series, which is called the early days of Daytona by collectors. In fact, the first series with reference number 6238 is not significantly different from the reference number. 6234, but the second series took a leap, introducing a more modern style, with baton hands, faceted hour markers and a monochromatic dial (silver, black and ardoise). When the tachometer dial is still on the dial, the telemetry dial is deleted. The bezel is smooth and polished, and the case diameter is 37 mm. Rolex customized the Valjoux cailbre 72 chronograph movement and renamed it 72 B, then 722 between 1965 and 1967.
referee. The 6238 is not yet an “Oyster” model and has no screw-in crown or buttons.
In 1963, Rolex introduced the first Cosmograph model, model 6239, instead of replacing model 6238, which was not produced until 1967. The distinguishing feature of Model 6239 is the tachometer scale engraved on the metal bezel to enhance the legibility of the dial. It is available with black and silver counters or silver and black counters. In the first few years of production, the scale of the bezel can reach 300 units per hour, and later can be changed to 200 units per hour.
This Rolex chronograph was not immediately called Daytona. In fact, Rolex initially used the name Le Mans in some advertisements, and finally chose the name of the legendary Daytona.
In 1965, Daytona’s name finally appeared on the dial. In the same year, cheap Rolex introduced a new version with a new dial called “Exotic”. Features of the exotic dial include:
-An external track matching the small dial extends around the edge of the dial;
-The small dials with crosshairs meet in the center, and the line is replaced by a marker;
-The seconds sub-dials placed at the 9 o’clock position are marked as 15, 30, 45 and 60 instead of the second dials marked as 20, 40 and 60 in the standard model.
In any case, in the following reference number 6240, the Daytona name does not always appear on the dial. This is a fully waterproof chronograph equipped with a screw-in button for the first time. This model also introduced a new metal bezel with black plastic lining and white numbers. It still had a diameter of 37 mm, and until 6 1969, the reference number 6240 was made of stainless steel only. The Oyster name appears between Rolex and Cosmograph. The reference 6240 model is the rarest Daytona model ever produced.
Rolex best has the reference number 6241 and offers another version with a black plastic bezel, such as reference number 6240, but with a down button. From this reference, the word Daytona will be officially printed on the dial.
Between 1970 and 1971, Rolex introduced four new benchmarks equipped with Cosmograph Daytona. These benchmarks were equipped with a new calibre 727 housed in a 37 mm case.
No. 6262 and 6264 use push-down buttons with a metal frame (No. 6262) or a black plastic frame (No. 6264). These references were produced from 1970 to 1972. The dial is white or black, but with a small dial.
The reference numbers 6263 and 6265 again use the downward screw button: ref. 6263, black plastic bezel and reference. 6265 metal frame. These models are available in stainless steel and gold and were manufactured from 1971 to 1987. Thanks to the use of screw-in buttons and a larger barrel, the water resistance has been increased from 50 meters to 100 meters.