Manufacturer: Rolex Year: Circa 1993 Reference No: 16520 Movement No: 70'676 Case No: S281081 Model Name: Cosmograph Daytona "Zenith" "Inverted 6" Material: Stainless steel Calibre: Automatic, cal, 4030, 31 jewels Bracelet/Strap: Stainless steel Rolex Oyster bracelet stamped "503 B" and " 78390" to the endlinks, max length 190mm Clasp/Buckle: Stainless steel Rolex deployant clasp stamped "S12" and "78390" Dimensions: 40mm Diameter Signed: Case, dial, movement and clasp signed Accessories: Accompanied by Rolex Service Guarantee dated February 8, 2019, green document holder, product literature, hangtag, fitted presentation box and outer packaging
Catalogue Essay
The first automatic Cosmograph Daytona ever produced, reference 16520 (together with gold model 16528 and steel-and-gold version 16523) was in production from 1988 until the introduction of Rolex’s in-house movement in 2000. As it often happens with Rolex timepieces - especially at the beginning of the production run of a model - the reference presents an evolution dictated by the company’s effort to perfect the design in terms of legibility and aesthetics.
The present low-S-serial wristwatch made in circa 1993 is one of the very last representatives of the “non-final” version of the reference. Around 1994 the final version was adopted, and it would remain the same until the end of the production, but this specimen still presents the famous “inverted 6” dial. As the name suggests, it is defined by the digit “6” present at 6 o’clock of the subsidiary dial being printed upside down, thus resembling a 9. Later examples bear instead an upside-up 6, thus avoiding any kind of possible confusion.
Serviced by Rolex in February of this year (and consequently under service guarantee until February 2021), the present example boosts the attractiveness and collectability of the “inverted 6” iteration with the fact that it is one of the very last examples to be fitted with such a dial configuration.
Founded 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.