Posts Tagged ‘Daytona’
126529LN Rolex Le Mans Daytona
We don’t usually talk about modern Rolex much, most of it doesn’t fit the criteria here. But some do. There hasn’t been anything like the Le Mans before. There’s this (broadly true) narrative that Rolex is increasing precious metal and pricing at a rate fast enough to become the next Hermes. And it’s true, many…
Read More6265 Rolex Daytona, 18k Yellow Gold
To understand the Daytona is to not just understand the attitude of Rolex in racing, professional tools, and the Oyster case; today it necessitates understanding how small differences in production sum to huge differences in collectability. The gold Daytona has always been a trophy. The 6263 and 6265 mark the final evolution of the manual…
Read More‘Lemon’ Dial 116520 Rolex Daytona
Is this the next Patrizzi dial? That is one of the most interesting, perennially-evolving questions in all Rolex. As watches progress from new to used, then neo or vintage, our relationship to them changes. Collectors are beginning to pay real attention, and sums, for ‘lemon’ dials. Now, these go equally by lemon, cream, or panna;…
Read More6239 Rolex Cosmograph Daytona
There is an intangible allure to true vintage Rolex which has lived with just a single owner. Is watch really any different if one person or two have owned it? That depends entirely on the people in question. The majority of us won’t have ever had the option to have purchased a 6239 new. If…
Read MoreFloating Cosmograph, ‘Porcelain’ Dial 16520 Rolex Daytona
The first of anything in Rolex-land tends to be a bit different, not just because it’s new, but relative to what came after. These small, initial periods of experimentation are where you get meters first Subs, red depth Datejusts, fuchsia GMTs, ‘Blackout’ 14270s, and, indeed, this Floating Cosmograph. This is the very start of the…
Read MoreBlack Dial 6238 Rolex ‘Pre-Daytona’ Chronograph
This is a Pre-Daytona, but it’s way more interesting than it appears at first glance. This is the Pre-Daytona equivalent of a perfect Paul Newman: finding any 6238 with a black dial. For standard dials, the 6238 might hold the Rolex record for having the largest discrepancy between dial colors. The vast, vast majority of…
Read More‘Small Floating’ Dial 6240 Rolex Daytona
This was the start of the screw down Daytona pusher. Okay, maybe not the very start, it’s not a Solo, but reference-wise with millerighes (more on that later). This is the ref. 6240 and it would not be a stretch to say that all screw-down Daytonas exist because of this reference’s lineage. Two years after the…
Read MoreJPS Paul Newman 6239 Rolex Daytona
John Player Special doesn’t represent an old cigarette manufacture or even Lotus F1 car to watch collectors. JPS is the apex, or at very least an apex, of Daytona collecting. The JPS is nothing more than a black Paul Newman dial with gold subs and chapter ring, a color mix very like the Lotus F1…
Read More‘Desert Eagle’ UAE Dial 6263 Rolex Daytona
Some of the sickest, most historically significant Daytonas in the world don’t say Daytona anywhere on them. But only a handful are so important that they don’t even say Rolex. Rolex did not bow this deeply for Tiffany, Beyer, or Assad. Rolex only agreed to make dials that didn’t say Rolex at the special request…
Read MoreTropical Dial 6263 Rolex Daytona
There is nothing like a tropical manual Daytona. The ageing process which has so beautifully crafted these subdials is somehow even more proudly and vividly displayed when contrasted directly against a silvered-white sunburst panda dial. I’ve said this before, but I like to imagine tropical dials as God’s way of saying ‘Wear your damn watches’.…
Read More