Ben Clymer

Oh man, that's a really complex question for a gentleman such as myself.

The Daytona is probably my favorite Rolex as an object.

There are Rolexes that mean a lot to me from a sentimental point of view, being my grandfathers, my fathers, et cetera.

But the Daytona as a thing has always been the peak of my fascination from the early 6239s, which is first generation Daytona.

Back before it even said Daytona on the dial, I wrote a story probably 10 years ago plus at this point on Hodiki about those.

There was some curiosity within Rolex about what they should call it.

And this was before they sponsored Daytona.

And the original name of the Cosmograph, the chronograph for racing was Le Mans.

It's called Rolex for a variety of reasons, but one of which is Rolex is Rolex in any language.

And Le Mans, with that silent S, the Rolex marketing department, as small as it was in 1963, said, you know what, that could turn off the American market.

And if you've ever tried to pronounce Audemars Piguet as Audemars Piaget, which is about 50% of humanity, you realize how uncomfortable that can be.

So they quickly went to the Daytona.

So the Daytona as an object is probably my favorite.

I will say that the watch that I'm actually wearing right now, which was actually the first modern Rolex ever bought, which is the Pepsi GMT in white gold.

I actually just realized I bought two months after we published the inside the Rolex story that I wrote 2015 is probably the one that means the most to me because I've just had it the longest.

And it was to celebrate something personal at the time.

First of all, like I'm a very serious car guy or I shouldn't say I'm a serious car guy, but I love cars a lot.

And the Daytona, not just with Rolex, but with all watches, that is about cosplay and the idea of you can be whoever you want to be.

I'm this like quiet dork from upstate New York.

In my mind, I'm Paul Newman and I'm driving a vintage Ferrari or vintage Porsche Le Mans or something super badass.