Manufacturer: Rolex Year: Circa 1996 Reference No: 16520 Movement No: 127'277 Case No: T878999 Model Name: Cosmograph Daytona Material: Stainless steel Calibre: Automatic, 4030, 31 jewels Bracelet/Strap: Stainless steel Rolex Oyster bracelet, 190 mm. maximum length Clasp/Buckle: Stainless steel Rolex twinlock folding deployant clasp Dimensions: 39 mm. diameter Signed:Case, dial and movement signed Accessories: With Rolex Attsetation de Chronomètre Officiel, product literature, leather wallet, fitted presentation box and outer packaging. Literature: For another example of a reference 16520 Daytona with tropical registers, please see The Ultimate Rolex Daytona by Pucci Papaleo, pages 556 to 559.
Catalogue Essay
This Daytona features tropical registers, which over time have turned from white to an attractive brown tone. In addition, the watch has been preserved in excellent overall condition and still retaining its original guarantee.
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.