RolexDaytona

The Rolex Daytona Ref 16520 marked a major milestone in the history of the model line. Popularly known now as the ‘Zenith Daytona’ it was the first self-winding Daytona reference. It was produced in response to a 1980s trend towards automatic watches; Rolex turned to the Zenith El Primero Calibre 400 - widely considered the best self-winding chronograph movement available on the market at the time.

In fact, Rolex heavily modified the El Primero movement, making some 200 changes to further improve reliability and ease of maintenance. This resulted in just 50% of the original movement remaining. The scarcity of Zenith El Primero movements, along with the amount of work required to enhance them to Rolex's specifications, resulted in limited availability of this series of Daytonas from the start.

This evolved movement went by the name Calibre 4030 and became the forerunner to the first self-winding chronograph movement produced in-house by Rolex, Calibre 4130, that still powers today’s modern ceramic Daytonas.

As well as being powered by the revered Zenith movement this example from 1999 features many of the changes ushered in by the reference 16520 that have shaped the modern Daytona. The lacquered silver-white dial has applied white gold hour markers inlaid with luminous material. And the sub-dials have a thin outer track of an opposing colour, each ringed with gold chapter rings.

With its 40mm Oystersteel case, screw-down case back, pushers and winding crown; fixed steel bezel with tachymeter scale, this lot is presented in mint condition and within the bounds of the seller’s AA grading. It’s rare to find examples of the reference 16520 in this condition and would suit any fastidious collector. Dating to 1999, it’s amongst the last examples of this highly sought-after ‘Zenith Daytona’ and is accompanied by its boxes, papers and swing tag.

The A serial Daytona offered here is a significant transitional Daytona, featuring for the first time a SEL (solid end link) bracelet, and a SuperLuminova dial. This model was only available for around 12 months.

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