There are only a few wristwatches in the world that has achieved a legendary global status as the Rolex Cosmograph Daytona. First introduced in the early 1960s via the ref. 6239, the Rolex Cosmograph Daytona was born amidst the golden era for chronograph timepieces inspired by the world of Automobile racing. In 1988, Rolex stunned the community once again with an entirely new Cosmograph Daytona ref. 16520. Dubbed as the first self-winding Daytona reference, the ref. 16520 is powered by the famous and at the time the most reliable chronograph caliber, the Zenith El Primero. Having enjoyed a successful production of 12 years, Rolex made a groundbreaking announcement in the year of the new millennium, a new Cosmograph Daytona ref. 116520. Similar in appearance, powered by the firm’s first in-house self-winding chronograph caliber 4130.

The Rolex Cosmograph Daytona ref. 116520 was first released in stainless steel with two dial options as usual, black or white. An immediate commercial success, the ref. 116520 was always highly sought after in the market due to its practicality, iconic appearance and value. In 2016, Rolex replaced the ref. 116520 with the current ref. 116500 featuring a Cerachrom bezel instead of the previous metallic stainless steel bezel.

The present Rolex Cosmograph Daytona ref. 116520 fitted with a white dial with an “M” serial from circa 2009, is offered with the full set of accessories including a Rolex Japan guarantee card stamped by a local department store as well as retaining its desirable Rolex Japan seal on the caseback. Very well-preserved, the present example is certainly a collectible example of the reference, and would definitely fulfill expectations from renowned collectors around the world.