While the Cosmograph Daytona has always been a coveted reference in stainless steel, precious metal versions had trouble developing traction with the wider public, sometimes languishing in retailer cases for months or years. Such was the case with this green dialed Daytona, oft-overlooked for its sportier steel panda and reverse-panda brethren. That is, until popular musician and more importantly, watch aficionado John Mayer was filmed testifying to his love of this reference – and almost overnight, the watch became a sensation.
One has to wonder why it took the watch community so long to jump on this bandwagon. The “vert foncé” dial is a chameleon, ranging from an apple green to a forest green under different lighting conditions, and the yellow gold case is spectacular in its opulence. Not since the chrysoprase green “Beach” Daytonas had Rolex released something so verdant, and given that green is really their brand color, it makes perfect sense.
The present reference 116508 is completely unworn, with all of its factory stickers present, complete with original paperwork, and offered by the original owner.
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.
