Rolex Daytona 116523

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They say there are no great deals to be had with Rolex anymore. We disagree: two-tone Daytonas are criminally underrated and one of the best deals in town.

While the prices of stainless steel Daytonas, particularly those with a Zenith movement, have sky-rocketed, the two-tone versions have long lacked popularity and prices have lagged behind on the more popular steel variants. Of course, this wasn’t going to last very long and watch collectors have finally begun to appreciate the luxury sporty looks of two-tone Daytonas as well.

This two-tone beauty is powered by Rolex’ very first in-house chronograph movement. The watch features a 40 mm stainless steel case with an 18K yellow gold engraved bezel and gold crown. The color scheme of the watch is contrasted by a sporty black dial with gold register rings and applied 18K yellow gold indices with Super Luminova filling. The red printed “Daytona” text right above the lower subregister, meanwhile, injects the watch with a vintage-inspired pop of color.

This 116523 dates back to 2015 and was retailed by Heetman, the Netherlands’ first ever Rolex dealer. The watch comes as a full set with the original boxes and papers and is in excellent condition with only minor signs of use here and there.

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.