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RolexDaytona

The Cosmograph Daytona is Rolex's chronograph, introduced in 1963 with a tachymeter on the bezel and named for the 24-hour race Rolex has timed since 1962. This library holds 185 references, 184 of them in the 40 mm case.

Rolex Cosmograph Daytona Stainless Steel / Yellow Gold / MOP Diamonds

Rolex

Cosmograph Daytona Stainless Steel / Yellow Gold / MOP Diamonds

116503-0007 · 40 mm

Rolex Cosmograph Daytona Yellow Gold / Cerachrom / MOP-Diamond / Oysterflex

Rolex

Cosmograph Daytona Yellow Gold / Cerachrom / MOP-Diamond / Oysterflex

116518ln-00345 · 40 mm

Rolex Cosmograph Daytona Yellow Gold - Cerachrom / Meteorite / Oysterflex

Rolex

Cosmograph Daytona Yellow Gold - Cerachrom / Meteorite / Oysterflex

126518LN-0016 · 40 mm

Rolex Cosmograph Daytona White Gold / Silver

Rolex

Cosmograph Daytona White Gold / Silver

116509-0072 · 40 mm

Rolex Cosmograph Daytona White Gold / Grey / Strap

Rolex

Cosmograph Daytona White Gold / Grey / Strap

116519-0163 · 40 mm

Rolex Cosmograph Daytona Yellow Gold / Golden / Oyster

Rolex

Cosmograph Daytona Yellow Gold / Golden / Oyster

126508-0005 · 40 mm

Rolex Daytona Platinum Diamond

Rolex

Daytona Platinum Diamond

116576TBR · 40 mm

Rolex Cosmograph Daytona Yellow Gold / Cerachrom / Black-Diamond / Oysterflex

Rolex

Cosmograph Daytona Yellow Gold / Cerachrom / Black-Diamond / Oysterflex

116518LN-0038 · 40 mm

Rolex Daytona White Gold Diamond Ruby Strap

Rolex

Daytona White Gold Diamond Ruby Strap

1165994ru-0002 · 40 mm

Rolex Cosmograph Daytona Yellow Gold / Meteorite

Rolex

Cosmograph Daytona Yellow Gold / Meteorite

116508-0015 · 40 mm

About the Rolex Daytona

The first ref 6239 carried a hand-wound Valjoux 72, and the screw-down pushers of the 6263 and 6265 of the 1970s made it an Oyster chronograph. The 1988 ref 16520 changed it into the watch it is now: 40 mm, automatic, with a Zenith El Primero rebuilt by Rolex as the caliber 4030. In 2000 the 116520 replaced that with the in-house 4130, a chronograph with a vertical clutch, a 72-hour reserve and far fewer parts, and in 2023 the 126500 generation brought the 4131 with the Chronergy escapement and, on the platinum model, the first display caseback on a Daytona.

The 4130 powers 133 of the 185 references here and the 4131 47; the 4132 of the Le Mans edition, with its 24-hour totaliser, appears in 2, and a single hand-wound 727 represents the pre-1988 watches. The 3135-to-3235 piece explains the escapement the 4131 shares with the current three-hand movements.

The material list runs against the steel reputation. Yellow gold is the largest group at 38 references, white gold 28, Everose 22, and the Cerachrom-bezel versions of each add another 56; steel with yellow gold accounts for 18, and only 9 of the 185 are plain steel. The 48 base references group into families led by the Everose 116515LN on its Oysterflex bracelet, the 116505, the 116528 and the 116508, and black dials lead at 62. Every reference is rated to 100 m, and none are limited editions, which is a Rolex policy rather than a Daytona one.

The Submariner and Yacht-Master share the Oyster case and, on the Yacht-Master, the Oysterflex bracelet the Daytona borrowed.

All models in this collection185