116509, Daytona, Sodalite Dial, White Gold

Rolex hard stone dials are often thought to be the preserve of the Day-Date and Datejust alone. It is not so. This 116509 features a scarcely-seen (without diamonds) Sodalite dial sporting 5-minute applied white gold Arabic indices. Executed in white gold, the 116509 is a Daytona which fully embraced the solidity and weight of luxury. It is an outlier of stone dials, an outlier of Daytonas, and still today a variant which few know of. White gold is a metal that doesn’t announce itself, unless someone really knows. The 116509 has been described as a ‘sports chronograph for the team owner, not the man behind the wheel’. 

The first Daytonas to feature hard stone dials arrived at the end of the 16519 in 1997 in Grossular Garnet. However, all these Daytonas were produced on alligator straps. The ‘Beach’ series followed, all also on straps. The 116509 in 2004 marked the first stone dial Daytona which could be special ordered with a white gold bracelet. All examples featured a white gold bezel with its own bold bezel design and font.

Then there’s the material itself. Sodalite is a gemstone whose blue is unlike any pigment or lacquer. It’s not flat nor even. It’s a depth of color built on swirls, veins, and specks—like looking down into shallow tropical water over a reef. Each dial is its own singular geological accident. Paired with applied white gold hour markers and luminous plots, it becomes something of a paradox: a tool watch that wears a slice of the earth’s crust. Rolex refrained from over-decorating it here—no diamond indexes—allowing the stone to come through more.

A component of appeal for the numeral Sodalite dial is undoubtedly rarity. Rolex never published production numbers for Sodalite-dial Daytonas, but the combination of a precious metal case, labor-intensive dial cutting, and the fragility of the material itself means these watches have always been thin in supply. Far more were made with diamonds. Most were sold through flagship boutiques to long-term clients, and survival rates are lower than one might expect. There are no service dials and they are far from invincible. As a result, original examples have drifted into collector consciousness as quiet grails.

The 116509 with Sodalite dial is, in essence, a Daytona that politely ignores the Daytona’s raison d’être. It trades the high-contrast legibility and steel pragmatism of its forebears for something closer to jewelry; yet, it does so without crossing into ostentation. In a world where modern Rolex can sometimes feel a touch overproduced, this Daytona stands apart as massively individual variant. 

This 116509 presents in great overall condition. All hallmarks are perfectly deep and sharp, however we believe the case has likely had a light polish. It should be noted that the 116509 never had a perfectly 90 degree edge on the outer edge of the lug, like contemporary 16018 Datejust or similar. This surface was, from factory, slightly softer. However, the bezel numerals on this example have a few points of fade that lead us to believe the case has seen a very light polish. Its dial sports no cracks or hairlines of any sort. It is perfectly preserved. Additionally, this example comes with Full Links, Inner & Outer Boxes, Hang Tags, International Guarantee Card, Leather Folio, Oyster Manual.

This example is modelled on an average-sized 7-inch wrist.