Rolex Daytona - Used Luxury Watches
The dial used on the Daytona is like a functioning piece of art. White gold markers and stick hands are extremely legible and the layout of the stopwatch dials further enhances readability

When it comes to luxury wrist watches there are very few names that come to mind. And on that short list, the name Rolex is right up there at the top. For decades Rolex has come to signify wealth, elegance, performance and luxury.

The Daytona was originally introduced in 1960 as the Cosmograph, a fancy name they made up. The watch is technically a chronograph, which is a timepiece that has a stopwatch function built in. But either way, the model soon became known as the Daytona because of the watch’s popularity with race car drivers at that hot spot of American racing. Later in the 1960s the model was associated with Paul Newman, a long time car collector and race fan, adding to its celebrity luster.

With its triple face dial, 72 hour power reserve, contrasting colors, and combination of precious metals and stainless steel, the Rolex Daytona offers both stunning good looks, and rock solid performance as well.

For starters, Rolex uses a screw down on the back of the case gives it a water resistance rating of up to 100 meters. Water resistance is further enhanced by the use of Rolex’s Triplock screw down crown as well as screw down pushers.

The dial used on the Daytona is like a functioning piece of art. White gold markers and stick hands are extremely legible and the layout of the stopwatch dials further enhances readability. The dial is housed under a sapphire crystal and Super Luminova coats the markers for visibility in low light.

If you’d ask most watch owners what the weakest part of the watch was, they’d most likely say the band or bracelet. The Rolex Daytona watch uses an Oyster bracelet and clasp that’s different than any other sport watch put out by Rolex. Most Oyster bracelets use hollow center links, but the Daytona employs both solid center links as well as solid end links. This makes the watch a bit heavier than others, but you simply can’t beat this bracelet for durability. For just an added touch of elegant detail, the bracelet’s center link is polished, which gives the bracelet a nice two-tone effect.

Clasps are another problem area for watches, as they tend to break frequently. The Daytona’s clasp is a flip lock design, which uses a unique fine adjustment pin. Again, this clasp is made especially for the Daytona.

For a watch of this caliber, you’d expect ultra fine movement and that’s exactly what you get. The Daytona uses a 44 jewel, self-winding (bi-directional rotor), 28,800 BPH and a 72-hour power reserve.

But what does all of this technology and elegance cost? The short answer is plenty. And it’s not all due to the design of the watch. While the starting retail price of a Rolex Daytona is around $6,550, just about every Rolex dealer is only given one or two watches per year. This results in a huge waiting list for these timepieces, which drives up prices in secondary markets close to double the retail price. And should you have a hankering for exotic dials, solid 18kt. gold bracelets, or a few diamonds for extra bling, you can quickly run the price up to $70K or more!

Clearly, the Rolex Daytona isn’t for everyone. But if you’re looking for a watch that tells people you’ve made it as well as the time, then it’s definitely the model to go with.