The Rolex Daytona 6263 Big Red is the vintage Cosmograph with screw-down pushers, a black bezel insert and the word DAYTONA printed in large red letters above the 6 o’clock counter, and this super clone recreates it at the original 37 mm. The silver dial with three black counters, the stainless steel Oyster case and the steel Oyster bracelet follow the reference that Rolex made until the automatic 16520 replaced the hand-wound Daytonas in 1988.

Rolex Daytona 6263 Big Red Specifications

• Reference: 6263
• Nickname: Big Red
• Case diameter: 37 mm
• Case material: stainless steel
• Bezel: black insert, tachymetric scale to 200 units per hour
• Pushers: screw-down
• Dial: silver, black counters, red DAYTONA above the 6 o’clock counter, applied stick indexes
• Counters: running seconds at 9 o’clock, 30 minutes at 3 o’clock, 12 hours at 6 o’clock
• Bracelet: steel Oyster, vintage style
• Movement: hand-wound chronograph clone, exact calibre unverified
• Water resistance: 100 m
• Price: $1,159 (super clone)

Where the Big Red Name Comes From

Early Daytona dials printed the model name small or not at all. On later 6263 and 6265 dials Rolex enlarged the red DAYTONA and printed it above the hour counter, and collectors began calling those watches Big Red. The 6263 is the version with a black bezel insert; its sister reference 6265 has an engraved steel bezel, so the bezel is the fastest way to tell the two apart in a listing.

The dial on this replica reads simply ROLEX OYSTER COSMOGRAPH under the coronet, without chronometer text, as on many genuine Big Red dials. The 37 mm case is three millimetres smaller than a modern Daytona and wears noticeably slimmer, which is a large part of its vintage appeal.

A Hand-Wound Chronograph

Genuine 6263 watches use Rolex Cal. 722 or Cal. 727, hand-wound chronographs based on the Valjoux 72. Our super clone keeps the manual winding and the counter layout of that era, with the small seconds at 9 o’clock rather than at 6 as on modern Daytonas. Its exact clone calibre is unverified, so we do not quote one. For how factories handle the modern Daytona movements, see our Daytona factory guide.

Rolex Daytona 6263 Big Red Replica FAQ

Why is the Daytona 6263 called the Big Red?

It is called Big Red because of the large red DAYTONA printed above the 6 o’clock counter, which is bigger than the lettering on earlier dials. The name applies to the 6263 and the steel-bezel 6265 with that dial.

Is the Daytona 6263 Big Red replica hand-wound?

Yes, this replica is hand-wound like the original: you wind it through the screw-down crown, and there is no rotor. A few turns each morning keep it running, and the chronograph starts and resets with the two screw-down pushers once they are unscrewed. It is a vintage Daytona copy in that sense too, not an automatic in an old case.

Compare it with the modern references in our Daytona replica collection.

Other versions of this model in stock: Rolex Daytona Le Mans 126529LN, Rolex Daytona 116500 Green Bezel, Rolex Daytona Le Mans 126528LN.