271
Rolex
Ref. 16520
Cosmograph Daytona
A fine and rare stainless steel automatic chronograph wristwatch with bracelet and Guarantee
Full-Cataloguing
The arrival of this model is what prompted for the first time collectors to “discover” the Cosmograph Daytona as a collectible timepiece: Zenith supply of movement was slow, thus making this model the first Daytona to present a waiting list for clients.
The relative scarcity of the model combined with historical importance, looks and practicality have made the series highly coveted by collectors. While presenting less variations than the manual models, the community came to appreciate some iterations more than other. Most notably, the first and last pieces made (respectively R and L series, and A and P series) are now highly coveted. The present example indeed belongs to this cathegory, bearing a P serial number which identifies the piece as one of the very last 16520 to leave Rolex workshop.
Offered in excellent, unpolished and virtually unused condition and complete of its original Guarantee, the present P series is an enticing proposal for the watch enthusiast as well as for the most serious of collectors.
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.