Rolex Oyster Perpetual Cosmograph Daytona Review

The racing watches to wear when nitrous oxide is what's running through your veins

Rolex Oyster Perpetual Cosmograph Daytona Review

Rolex has always been synonymous with high-octane motorsports and the Rolex Daytona is the world's most recognizable chronograph. The Rolex Cosmograph Daytona watch series was first introduced in 1963 and has many stunning designs such as the highly polished and fashionable Rolex Daytona Steel and Gold (Model number 116523 White Index ) featured below. They are COSC certified Superlative Chronometers which are the highest available designation for a mechanical watch from the Official Swiss Chronometer Testing Institute. 

Why Is The Rolex Daytona The World's Most Famous Chronograph?

Let's take an up-close look at this iconic watch series. The Rolex Daytona has a very dependable chronograph and features a bezel with a tachymeter which allows the measurement of speeds at up to 400 miles or kilometers per hour. The name "Daytona" is found in red on the dial on most models around the top of the bottom-most sub-dial. For those that don't follow motor racing, this name is symbolic of the famous racing at the Daytona International Speedway which is located in Florida. This speedway opened in 1959 and is where the most prestigious NASCAR race, the Daytona 500 takes place. 

There are several collections in the series and they all vary in price. At the very top is the Rolex Cosmograph Daytona Platinum with an Ice Dial and Baguette Diamond Indexes (model number 116506LN). This watch has a chestnut brown Cerachrom bezel which is fabricated of a highly durable ceramic that is extremely hard and highly resistant to scratches. It also has great resistance to corrosion and is unaffected by ultraviolet light which can cause colors to fade. Of course with such impressive features come equally impressive list prices of $82,500 (watch depicted below). There are some other Daytona watches that have sold for more such as the Lemon dial Paul Newman Daytona watch that was sold for $840,000 but we'll have to save that for a whole other story. 

Aside from the Rolex Daytona Rose Gold watches made of their proprietary red or pink gold alloy known in the industry as Everose® gold (pictured above); the most sought after watches in this series are the stainless steel models. However, Rolex has recently stopped production on a few Rolex Daytona Stainless Steel watches. Namely, Daytona reference # 116520 had 2 versions, one with a White Dial and another with a Black Dial. These had polished stainless steel fixed bezels which are being replaced by two new models that feature their newer Cerachrom bezels made of their high-density ceramic material. These two were some of the most popular models from this series but now with their replacements, the Rolex Daytona ref 116500LN Black and the 116500LN White.

With the introduction of these two new steel Daytona watches, it's as if the world can't get enough of these ...and Rolex can't produce enough. They are possibly the hardest watches to get your hands on at the moment. You'll have to wait a really long time to get one, maybe years. It doesn’t make a difference if you are a rookie watch collector or a Rockefeller, you'll have to wait in line just the same. The Daytona was actually called the most wanted watches in the world even though they both have a very low price tag of under $20k. These are the type of Rolex watches that have the potential to resell for more than the list price after purchase. It has an automatic chronograph movement, a tachymeter scale, a large central chronograph seconds hand, a crown that can screw into the case, a little bit of water resistance, and that's it. No day date, no fancy complications other than a stopwatch function. Hats off to anyone who is lucky enough to already own one of these beauties.

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