Why's a 62XX series Daytona called a "Newman" anyway?

[DW-Watches 0]

I'd like to share what my apparently (namesake at least) evil twin posted. Just an excerpt really, but an interesting read. There's only room for 1 Steve, BTW

Well, I'll make room Here's the full article: http://www.replica-watches-guide.com/forum...c=14422&hl=

 

*********, the Rolex Daytona is an early example of a watch that tells a story. When a collector hears “Daytona,†they think of a story. The Daytona is a chronograph, or watch with stopwatch function added to it. The early models of the Daytona are referred to as “Paul Newman†Daytonas, which refer to Daytonas produced before 1989, when a new design was introduced (Massena, 2001). According to legend, Paul Newman wore one of these models in the 1969 racing movie Winning. Another theory is that he wore one of these Daytonas in the poster for the movie, neither which has been confirmed. (Newman himself does not recall how his name got attached to the watch). The only things confirmed are that Newman was a racing fan, and that he had owned several Daytonas in his lifetime. While the Daytona was not the first chronograph created, it may be the most famous. Rolex called their chronograph the cosmograph, and added markers to the outer rim of the case to help out race car drivers and their crews in calculating average lap speeds, hence the name Daytona, referring to the race track at Daytona Beach, FL. How Paul Newman’s name got attached to the watch may be a mystery, but Newman wore a Rolex for over 30 years and was an avid racing fan. Besides being a racing fan and actor, Newman was a known philanthropist in his day. His brand of salad dressing, Newman’s own, has donated over 125 million dollars to charity. In 1995, Newman won a race sponsored by Rolex; the Rolex 24H and received a new Daytona, which had the inscription “Rolex 24H at Daytona, Paul Newman, Rolex Motorsports Man of the Year, 1995.†Newman donated this prize to a charity auction, sponsored by Antiquorum, a watch auction house four years later. It is not hard to see how collectors gravitated towards naming such a legendary watch after such a legendary man. He won races, was a famous actor, and a notable philantropist. All of the history behind the watch and the man makes the Daytona one of the most iconic watches available, besides telling time, to many, it tells a story of timelessness, charity, and the life of a very inspirational man.

 

Paul Newman, and The Paul Newman Daytona. Newman appears to be wearing his namesake watch in this picture.

[bubbaa 0]

Thanks for sharing, now it makes sense why that watch fetched $500k.

[LHOOQ 0]

Just a correction, DW-A: "Paul Newman" refers specifically to the exotic-dial variants of the manual-wind Daytonas--like the one you have pictured. Standard dials (i.e. either black or silver with contrasting subdials and long metal hour indices) are NOT considered Paul Newmans.

[houndoggie 58]

Okay, that is just one theory. I think the truth lies with this guy:

 

[wat44 0]