Rolex Daytona – The Hype
The Rolex Daytona is one of the most desired and hyped watches. The hype is well deserved as it is a watch which surprises you, in a good way, on a number of occasions. A watch with three sub-dials and two pushers around the crown, it may appear to be a bulkier watch, but you will be surprised to know it’s lighter than a submariner. You may think it would look bulky on the wrist only to find out that its much smaller than an Omega Speedmaster. Now with the new reference 126500LN, there are some improvements which really make this watch a must to have. Calibre24 has some of the most sought-after Rolex Daytona models available, please click here for details.
Oyster Perpetual Cosmograph – The Exclusivity
About seven or so years ago, you could easily walk into a Rolex boutique where a professional model like the GMT, Submariner, Explorer II, or Deep-Sea was readily available for purchase. You could’ve even seen most of the dial variations and configurations of the Rolex Datejust available at the boutique.
There was one watch, however, that was impossible to be had even then. The Rolex Cosmograph Daytona. Let aside seven or eight years; you can even go back twenty years, and the Daytona was still a very sought-after and almost impossible-to-have watch as a walk-in customer.
Rolex Daytona on Wrist – Instant Bling & Bang:
Saying that the Rolex Daytona are scarce, sought after, or difficult watches to be had is because they genuinely are well-loved, admired, and longed for. Not since the hype season began or the crazy watch times have commenced a few years ago, rather well before that, and for all the right reasons. When you look at the Rolex Daytona and put it on your wrist, you immediately realize why it’s such an incredible timepiece, regardless of what your wrist size is.
Proportional Aesthetics Plus:
When you put it on your wrist, it always decorates it and wears like it is made for you. One of the many things that Rolex does very well is the proportional aesthetics, and they continue to refine and master their watches. Every new release is a better and more refined version of the watch than the previous reference. The all-new Daytona reference 126500LN released in 2023 is no different, and in this release, we have some very interesting and pleasing upgrades that increase the level of an already successful and beautiful Daytona to another level.
The Dial:
Starting off with the dial, we have thinner hour indices than the older reference. The thinner indices add to the looks and more sleekness and add to the versatility of the watch. It is now a little more-dressier or less-chunkier looking, for lack of better words. The dial hands remain the same as before for both the dial and the sub-dials and work beautifully. However, the sub-dial rims have been trimmed down this time, making the subs look a little bigger, although proportionally they appear to be similar in size. So the changes in the dial are minimal and more aesthetic.
AR Crystal:
That being said, there are some technological changes too. We have a crystal on the dial now with anti-reflective coating so you would see fewer reflections of the objects and more of the dial when you look at your watch.
Ceramic Bezel with Metal Ring:
Speaking about the bezel, we have a ceramic black bezel, but this time there’s a thin steel rim at the outer periphery of the bezel. This design element is purely aesthetical, and while it does add to the looks and aesthetics, it does appear to be a trade-off in my opinion. If you were to hit your Daytona at the doorknob (God forbid) or any object inadvertently, previously with the all ceramic bezel the Rolex Daytona bezel would likely take the hit and show no marks of damage or use, but now with the steel rim, if you have a similar impact, you may see a minor ding at the point of impact. Beauty is delicate, and I think this belief is revived with this design change.
All is not lost though. The ceramic bezels are hard to scratch and ding, but they can break or shatter, this metal ring works as the protector of the ceramic against any hard hits from the side. Its a best of both worlds, a little bit of shiny bling and also a guardian who will take the hit and keep it to show but will protect the shiny stone. Although, not all of that will come at no cost, as this metal ring being from stainless steel will sadly take some dents and dings in the process — sigh!
The Case Shape – Symmetry at Last:
The most sought-after design change for me is the case shape. Now the modern Daytona with a ceramic bezel for the first time is housed inside a symmetrical case. If you saw the previous generation Daytona video on our YT channel from five years ago, the lugs on the crown side were too thin and unsymmetrical compared to the lugs on the non-crown side of the case.
You can actually notice how much the level of asymmetry is in the previous reference Daytona.
It was such a controversial design element that if you didn’t know, you didn’t, but once you knew it, you wouldn’t be able to unsee it.
Case Dimensions
The case Dimensions measured at the outer extremity of the bezel; the watch face is 38.7 mm, so while Rolex calls it a 40 mm watch, in my eyes it is still a little smaller and looks more like a 39 mm watch. To give the idea of the size of the dial, I measured the size of the crystal on top, which is 30.3 mm (which is similar to the dial size on the Rolex Submariner), so it doesn’t look all that small.
For reference, this is the similar crystal size as we see in the Rolex Submariner 41.
The lug-to-lug height
The lug-to-lug height of the watch is 47.6 mm.
For the watch to contour to your wrist, you would need a wrist span of more than 48 mm.
The case thickness is 12.1 mm, so while it is a 0.5 mm thinner watch than the previous model, when I first held the All-New Daytona in my hand, my first impression was that it looked thicker than the previous generation.
Sized to a 6.5-inch wrist, the watch weighs only 138 g. My wrist size for reference is 6.5 in, and the wrist span is 55 mm. The new Daytona with 47.6 mm lug to lug sits in the center of my wrist and looks elegant and beautiful.
Rolex Daytona 126500LN is actually about 10% lighter in weight than the Rolex Submariner
Rolex Daytona 126500LN – New Movement:
The new Daytona also comes with an all-new movement reference 4131, which offers 72 hours of power reserve. If you wound your watch on Friday and left it over the weekend, you can easily take it out on Monday, and it will still be running and giving you the accurate time reading.
Final Remarks:
The Rolex Daytona is quite possibly one of the most iconic watches to exist, and with the way Rolex evolve their watches while keeping and maintaining the looks, these watches are meant to hold their collectability and desirability forever.
While the all-new Daytona is technologically a better and more modern watch, the looks are the aesthetic elements with a fine line where many purists and enthusiasts will still prefer the full ceramic bezel or, overall, the more subtle form of the previous generation Daytona 116500LN, while others will go for the new release with the newer aesthetics reference 126500LN. And this is exactly how Rolex makes their watches a win-win with every new-release they do. There is a reason why Rolex is so successful, and when you look at the Daytona from this year or the one from the last, you can very well see why.
