Rolex Daytona 16520 'Patrizzi'

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The Zenith Daytona is the new Valjoux Daytona!Daytonas are hot, hot, hot. By now, everyone is well aware of the collectability of vintage four-digit references and of course everyone laments the unavailability of modern ceramic Daytonas at Rolex dealerships. But, five-digit Daytonas are still slept on and, boy, have we got an absolute beauty for you!In 1988, Rolex finally retired the vintage 6xxx series Daytonas with the hand wound Valjoux movement and plexiglass. In its stead, it introduced the completely updated ref. 16520 Daytona. This second-generation iteration was updated to a modern 40mm steel case with sapphire crystal, a glossy black dial, and a heavily modified Zenith El Primero self-winding movement.The Zenith-powered Daytonas were produced for just a decade until Rolex, finally we might add, introduced its first in-house chronograph movement in 2000. Due to their short production run the Zenith Daytonas are in short supply. The one we have on offer now is a beautiful variation. In 2005, Mr. Osvaldo Patrizzi, chairman of the famed Antiquorum auction house noticed that some black-dial Zenith Daytonas featured discolored counters. This imperfection occurs on some 16520 Daytonas due to use of an organic varnish that inadvertently turned into a brownish color over time. These ‘Patrizzi dials’ are an especially rare and sought-after variation among collectors. This ‘Patrizzi’ Daytona dates back to 1998 and features a glossy black dial, with beautiful golden sub-dials, and ivory tritium hands and indexes. The watch is in honest condition with a nice thick case and comes on an Oyster bracelet with polished center links.

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.