Since 1959, Rolex has been deeply involved in the automobile world, becoming the first sponsor of motor races, including the 24 Hours of Daytona. Long-lasting bonds since today the race is commonly known as the Rolex 24 at Daytona. After much research into optimising its chronographs, it was in 1963 that Rolex launched the production of its emblematic Cosmograph Daytona, in homage to the famous race on the eponymous beach in Florida. Reference 6241 was produced approximately from 1965 to 1969, equipped with a black epoxy bezel, push-buttons and a small 6 mm winding crown.
1969 is a decisive date for the history of Rolex since the same year the film Winning was released, in which the famous Hollywood actor, Paul Newman (1925-2008), played Frank Capua, a young pilot of the Indianapolis 500 miles, wearing a Daytona 6239 with an exotic dial on his wrist. Following this film, the actor decided to pursue a parallel career as a racing driver. Exotic dials are very rare because they are less popular than classic dials and are intended for professionals, so they were manufactured by Singer in much fewer numbers. They are characterised by alternating colours, in this case red, black and white, and square indexes in the registers to make them easier to read. They went down in history as "Paul Newmann" dials.