A RARE BIG RED DAYTONA MEN'S STAINLESS STEEL MANUAL CHRONOGRAPH, BRACELET WATCH, FULL SET.

Model: Oyster Cosmograph Daytona "Big Red"
Date: 1983
Case reference: 6265
Movement: Signed Rolex, 17-Jewels, manual chronograph, Cal. 727
Dial: Signed, black, silvered applied batons with luminous applied dots, white outer minute division, silvered stick hands with luminous insert, silvered centre second hand for the chronograph, subsidiary dial for seconds at the six o'clock position, subsidiary dial for chronograph minutes at the three o'clock position, subsidiary dial for chronograph hours at the six o'clock position, big red 'Daytona' over the subsidiary dial for chronograph hours at the six o'clock position, "T SWISS T" designation at the six o'clock position
Case: Signed, stainless steel, fixed bezel with a black 200 units/hour division, screw-down crown, screw-down pushers, screw-down back stamped inside C.R.S, No. 7422491
Bracelet: Signed, stainless steel stamped 78350/19, end links 557, signed stainless steel deployment clasp stamped X12, 78350
Size: 37mm
Accompaniments: Rolex Guarantee dated 16th December 1983, green Rolex wallet for the paperwork, presentation Rolex box

Rolex’s iconic Cosmograph Daytona watch has been designed to meet the demands of professional racing drivers and is associated with one race track in particular. In 1959 the American National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) opened its Daytona International Speedway and this became the home of the Daytona 500, the most prestigious motor car race in America. Rolex’s iconic Cosmograph Daytona watch has been designed to meet the demands of professional racing drivers and is associated with one race track in particular. In 1959 the American National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) opened its Daytona International Speedway and this became the home of the Daytona 500, the most prestigious motor car race in America.

Rolex became the official timekeeper of the Daytona International Speedway in 1962, and to mark the occasion, the Cosmograph Reference 6239 was introduced in 1963 as the first chronograph from Rolex nicknamed "Daytona". However, the original Reference 6239 did not include "Daytona" on the dial (and was in fact nicknamed "Le Mans" for the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans race). This was better known as Pre-Daytona, the precursor of the Daytona as we know it today

The watch we are offering in our auction is the reference 6265, launched in 1971 and was in production until 1988. It has major upgrades on the original design such as:

• a steel bezel instead of the black acrylic bezel used on the previous models
• the prominent / 'big' "Red Daytona" label above the six o'clock sub-dial in a large font, thus becoming one of the most famous dials in Rolex history
• the new "Oyster" designation (never used before on this model) offering water resistance, screw-down pushers and a new upgrade on the movement from the Valjoux 722 to the more reliable and more precise Valjoux 727 that works at 21,600 vibrations per hour
• the replacing of 15 components, screws and other elements from the preceding calibre 722-1 making the watch a better tool as a chronograph on the racetracks.

After this model Rolex never again used manual winding movements, making this watch the last generation of Rolex watches to feature this mechanism.