Rolex Daytona 116588TBR 'Eye of the Tiger'

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It's the eye of the tiger, it's the thrill of the fight Risin' up to the challenge of our rival And the last known survivor stalks his prey in the night And he's watchin' us all with the eye of the tigerIn 2019, at Baselword, Rolex released a diamond-set Cosmograph Daytona under reference 116588TBR. Probably, the fair's most unexpected and craziest release. Of course, a Rolex Daytona with diamonds is not something new but one with a dial like the 116588TBR sure is! The black-lacquered dial has an applied 18k yellow-gold and diamond-set, wavy structure on the surface, which can remind you of a tiger's fur. The index has factory-set diamonds with 18k yellow-gold hour marker surroundings except for the 3-, 6- and 9-hour position, which are 18k yellow-gold Arabic numerals (15, 30, 45 respectively). The bezel is gem-set and the 40-mm. case, the crown and the pushers are from 18k yellow gold. Crazy enough, Rolex has decided to strap the watch on a Rolex Oysterflex strap with 18k yellow-gold folding clasp. The watch runs on the self-winding, Rolex in-house movemement calibre 4130.This watch, together with the Patek Philippe Nautilus 3700/13J that we have on offer, is our colleague Ramon's holy grail.

Introduction

Rolex 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 were 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 $15,000 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.