Learn About Vintage Watches Episode Two: The Rolex Daytona Differences

The Rolex Daytona is one of the most iconic watches in modern vintage watch collecting. Interest in this watch has risen and so too has the prices. Being that it is such a popular watch, we decided to break down some variations between Rolex Daytona's so that you know what is going on when they are being talked about. This is not a guide on all the different references as we feel that deserves its own post.

The first thing to discuss is the dial of these watches. It has a various colour variations; silver, white, black and champagne with three sub dials that display the chronograph timers and the seconds. A very well known variation of dial colour is when the dial and sub dial are white and black respectively. This is known as a “panda dial”. There is also a reverse panda dial where the colours are switched. This variations are extremely desired by collectors.

Next are exotic dials, also known as a “Paul Newman” dial. The markers on the sub dials have little squares at the end of them unlike non-exotic dials. These are also very desired by collectors and often times fetch higher prices at auction.

“Big Eye” Daytona’s are where the sub dials are slightly larger than the normal sub dial size. This is a small nuance that not many collectors see, but again, are very desired.

There are two types of pushers that can be found on Rolex Daytona’s. There are ‘pump pushers’ and ‘screw down’ pushers. Screw down pushers are what they sound like and help with water resistance. Pump pushers are simply round chronograph pushers that can be used like any other pusher. Different references have different types of pushers.

Moving into the types of movements used, there are Daytona’s that use Valjoux movements and others that use Zenith movements. Daytona’s with a 4 digit reference number use the Valjoux movements and 5 digit reference numbers use the Zenith movements. This really comes down to your personal preference as to which you prefer in your watch.

As previously stated, we will create a post for the differences between Rolex Daytona references, but this gives you some good information that is often spoken about when speaking about vintage Rolex.

Enjoy!