233
Rolex
Ref. 16520
Cosmograph Daytona
A rare stainless steel chronograph wristwatch with suspended logo and bracelet
- Estimate
- HK$100,000 - 150,000
HK$150,000
Lot Details
- Manufacturer
- Rolex
- Year
- 1989
- Reference No
- 16520
- Movement No
- 15'538
- Case No
- L688010
- Model Name
- Cosmograph Daytona
- Material
- Stainless steel
- Calibre
- Automatic, 4030, 31 jewels
- Bracelet/Strap
- Stainless steel<em> Rolex Oyster </em>bracelet, 180 mm. maximum length, end link stamped 503
- Clasp/Buckle
- Stainless steel <em>Rolex</em> folding deployant clasp
- Dimensions
- 38 mm. diameter
- Signed
- <em>Case, dial and movement signed </em>
- Accessories
- With <em>Rolex </em>service receipt dated 15 June 2007.
Specialist
Full-Cataloguing
Catalogue Essay
This Cosmograph Daytona has been preserved in excellent condition as the watch still retains all factory finishes. The case is very sharp and still carries all of its original proportions. The watch is fitted with a black dial and 'suspended logo' in white graphics. The subsidiary dials have aged a warm beige tone which gives a very charismatic look.
Only the earliest examples of reference 16520 were fitted with the 'floating' dial variant, which was produced for approximately one year from 1988 to 1989. Watches fitted with the 'suspended logo' were produced with the 'R' or 'L' serial, such as this example which is among the last examples made. This is an outstanding example with unpolished case and is very crisp overall.
Only the earliest examples of reference 16520 were fitted with the 'floating' dial variant, which was produced for approximately one year from 1988 to 1989. Watches fitted with the 'suspended logo' were produced with the 'R' or 'L' serial, such as this example which is among the last examples made. This is an outstanding example with unpolished case and is very crisp overall.
Literature
Rolex
Swiss | 1905Founded in 1905 England by Hans Wilsdorf and Alfred Davis as Wilsdorf & Davis, it soon became known as the Rolex Watch Company in 1915, moving its headquarters to Geneva in 1919. Like no other company, the success of the wristwatch can be attributed to many of Rolex's innovations that made them one of the most respected and well-known of all luxury brands. These innovations include their famous "Oyster" case — the world's first water resistant and dustproof watch case, invented in 1926 — and their "Perpetual" — the first reliable self-winding movement for wristwatches launched in 1933. They would form the foundation for Rolex's Datejust and Day-Date, respectively introduced in 1945 and 1956, but also importantly for their sports watches, such as the Explorer, Submariner and GMT-Master launched in the mid-1950s.One of its most famous models is the Cosmograph Daytona. Launched in 1963, these chronographs are without any doubt amongst the most iconic and coveted of all collectible wristwatches. Other key collectible models include their most complicated vintage watches, including references 8171 and 6062 with triple calendar and moon phase, "Jean Claude Killy" triple date chronograph models and the Submariner, including early "big-crown" models and military-issued variants.
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