Book Review:
ROLEX DAYTONA:  A LEGEND IS BORN
By: John B. Holbrook, II
November 22nd, 2008

I've had ROLEX DAYTONA:  A LEGEND IS BORN for a couple of years now - it was published in November of 2006 and I snapped it up as soon I was aware of it in early 2007.  I'm a HUGE fan of the Rolex Daytona, so I was thrilled at the thought of a dedicated book about the beloved chronograph from Rolex:   

 

Firstly, let's talk about what this book does right, because there is a lot to talk about in this regard.  Thanks (in my opinion) to the fact that there are three Italian authors who contributed to this work, the depth of the material discussed is exceptional.  One of the authors (Stefano Mazzariol) is listed as being the moderator of the Vintage Rolex Forum on the Italian watch discussion website  Orologi & Passioni - this is the first Rolex book to be born out of a significant contribution from the online watch enthusiast community, which I think is pretty special.  Like most of the Rolex related publications coming out of Italy, the text is provided with both Italian and English translations:   

Kudos to the authors for providing a high degree of technical detail in this book, with movement and dial macro photos of nearly every Daytona model discussed.  This makes the book not only entertaining for those who may never afford to buy a vintage Daytona, but it also makes the book an invaluable reference for those looking to educate themselves prior to purchasing a vintage Daytona.   The book also has a high degree of production value - excellent photography, and a quality feel to the binding, pages, and the hard cover.

In many respects, this book is head and shoulders above nearly any other Rolex related book I've come across - the educational value, thanks to the nearly obsessively complete technical details is unmatched., and the book is exceptionally comprehensive in the examples of vintage Daytonas which are shown.  My only complaint was that the book stops just short of being completely comprehensive - the modern Daytona (caliber 4130 models after 2000) is completely ignored - the authors allude to the possibility of covering the modern Daytona in a later edition of the book.  If they do produce another edition however that does include an examination of the modern Daytona, based on what I'm seeing in the book, it will be worth re-buying.  ROLEX DAYTONA:  A LEGEND IS BORN is probably my top 2 or 3 Rolex book in my library, even with the glaring omission of the modern Daytona.

ROLEX DAYTONA:  A LEGEND IS BORN is currently available on the COLLECTING WATCHES website for 100 Euro plus shipping (about $125.00 US at today's exchange rates) - click here for ordering information.  At that price, the book is quite a value, as most of the Italian Rolex publications go for at least $200.00, which makes the book that much easier to recommend.