Rolex Daytona 116509

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The ref. 116509 is the stealth-wealth Daytona.While it may look like steel to the undiscerning eye, the case and bracelet are crafted from 18k white gold and it’s noticeable as soon as you feel the heft on your wrist. The case and bracelet are in great condition. The case has nice thick lugs and sharp edges, while the bracelet is still very tight. The watch has some minor signs of wear, with minor scratches here and there. The 116509, furthermore, sports Rolex’ first in-house automatic chronograph movement, that was introduced in 2000.The watch features Rolex’ so-called ‘racing dial’. In the place of the traditional indexes, we find applied 18k gold Arabic numerals, giving the watch a luxurious sporty appearance. The classic sunburst silver dial sports three chronograph counters with black outer rings and popping red painted numerals. The red detailing is continued further on the hands of the sub-dials and the main chronograph hand.The watch dates back to 2010 and comes as a full set, with the original box, papers, and hangtag.

Introduction

Rolex Cosmograph DaytonaRolex started making chronographs in the 1930s, but it was only in 1963 that a named product line was introduced: the Cosmograph. In some early advertisements, Rolex referred to the watch as the ‘Le Mans’ after the famous race track in France, although the name never appeared on the dial. After a few years, the line was officially renamed Cosmograph Daytona, after the racetrack in Florida.The most noticeable difference between these Cosmograph (Daytona) models and earlier Rolex chronographs was the tachymeter scale (used for measuring distance and speed) that was moved from its traditional placement on the dial to the bezel. Furthermore, the dial was updated with the introduction of contrasting sub-dials.It's hard to imagine now, but Daytonas received little love after their release. Most Daytonas languished in dealer displays for years and only started to get noticed by Italian collectors and dealers in the late 1980s. Nowadays, Daytonas are among the most sought after Rolex models, fetching prices from $20,000 for modern ones to many millions for rare vintage references. A big contrast with the $210 list price when it was first released!

Specifications

Shipping

Packages are generally dispatched within 2 days after receipt of payment and are shipped within the Netherlands by Registered Mail through the Dutch carrier PostNL and for other countries by Fedex. Consult us if you prefer another method of shipping. For most destinations tracking is available.