ROLEX | COSMOGRAPH DAYTONA, REF 116519 WHITE GOLD CHRONOGRAPH WRISTWATCH WITH METEORITE DIAL CIRCA 2014

The Rolex Daytona stands as the absolute chronograph benchmark since its first release in 1963. Despite its utilitarian vocation, the legendary sports chronograph was progressively released in yellow, white and pink gold, followed by platinum in 2013. The original versions of the Daytona relied on Valjoux-based manual winding movements before Rolex made the switch to an automatic solution in 1988, using a heavily-modified Zenith El Primero. In 1999, the LVMH group acquired Zenith, forcing Rolex to manufacture their own Daytona caliber, which was released in 2000 under the name cal. 4130.

The present Daytona example was crafted in white gold and bears the exceptionally rare meteorite dial. While production quantities for these special watches are ignored, one can assume that these dials were scarcely manufactured due to the difficulty to work with meteorite and the rarity of the material. In the current market, watch brands cannot acquire more meteorite samples and are constrained to use their existing stock to supply their production lines with, until its complete exhaustion. Meteorite dials have typically been paired with white gold Rolex watches, and guarantees that no two dials look alike, making each of these rare watches unique in essence.

The present Meteorite dial Daytona was purchased new in 2014 and is offered on behalf of its first owner. The very well preserved watch is supplied with its host of original accessories, including the guarantee card, box, booklets and even its original receipt. As these specific Daytona models are becoming increasingly to source, such an example with a direct provenance stands as a great opportunity to add a future must-have to an ambitious collection.