Celebrating 60 years of the Rolex Daytona

To celebrate 60 years of its iconic sports chronograph, Rolex unveils a new Daytona with a new case design, dial tweaks and an improved movement, the caliber 4131. For the first time in Rolex’s history, the platinum Daytona also features a sapphire display caseback. The dial has smaller hour markers and sun dial rings that hark back to the original Daytona Perpetual launched in 1988.

In 1963, Rolex unveiled the reference 6239 Cosmograph Daytona. The main difference between this and previous Oyster chronographs, that Rolex had been making since the 1930s, was the presence of a tachymeter bezel. Previously, the chronograph scales had been on the dial. Arguably the biggest transformation was in 1988, when Rolex unveiled the first automatic Daytona. The case was more inline with other sports watches from the brand at 40mm and now included crown guards either side of the crown and a scratch-resistant sapphire one. The watch was driven by a heavily modified Zenith El Primero movement, which is why these watches are now known as Zenith Daytonas. In 2000, the brand replaced the modified Zenith movement with their new in-house movement, the caliber 4130. This movement required the two sub dials to be moved a fraction higher on the dial. On top of that, the hour totalizer and running seconds sub dials switched places. Other subtle changes occurred, including larger hour markers and fatter hands.