New arrival!! My first modern Rolex

[tempocalypse]

My journey with Rolex began last year starting with my purchase of a vintage 5513 Submariner circa 1968 with a faded bezel. It quickly became my most frequently worn watch and a firm favourite. It was quickly clear to me that the 5513 was only the beginning and there would be more! While most of Rolexes on my wishlist are vintage ones, I have been wanting a modern one for some time as well. The 5513 is obviously one of THE tough watches of its time but the quality of the movement, the cases and the bracelets have been improved significantly since then.






And so here it is, the 116520 Daytona! This is really more of a first impression rather than a full review, I'll probably do a full one with more detailed pictures after a couple of weeks of wearing.

If we define a grail watch as something that is both desirable and also most likely unobtainable for one reason or other (as opposed to merely being whatever is highest on the wishlist as is often used) this was my first grail. Back when I turned 18 my parents wanted to buy me a watch, something reasonably priced of course. I had only just begun to learn about watches back then but even so I quickly fixated on the Daytona. Unfortunately the 116520 had only recently come out and not only was it not so reasonably priced, I heard tales of waiting lists months or even years long. Anyway I asked my parents for a Tag Heuer Aquaracer chronograph, a watch that I found quite attractive (perhaps because of its vague resemblance to the Daytona). I dismissed the Daytona as something I would probably never have as I couldn't quite imagine myself spending that kind of money on a watch despite being a budding enthusiast.

Forwarding to the present day, circumstances have changed substantially. I had become a full blown WIS and am fortunate enough to be in a position to afford some very nice watches. And so a decade on from when that journey began, things have come full circle and I finally have my Daytona! Seemingly the days of wait lists several months long seems to be over too in many regions although they do still sell very quickly.



A lot of Daytona buyers agonise over whether to go for white or black. For me it was simple, I preferred the look of the strong contrast on the black 116520 with silver subdial rings while silver on white did not really appeal to me. I do however like the white version of the 16520 Zenith Daytona with black sub-dial rings. So I do actually intend to acquire a white Zenith Daytona sometime in the future. And hopefully a 6263 white panda with black bezel in the long run.

I was a very torn between this and the Zenith, in fact as recent as a couple of weeks ago when I did an SOTC, I put the Zenith on the wishlist. However, I decided to go for the current reference ahead of the Zenith primarily because I wanted a Rolex with a modern bracelet that would provide the ultimate in a comfortable daily wear. The Zenith and the 6263 will hopefully come one day

While we shall see over the next few weeks if it lives up to that billing, first impressions are certainly very positive. The watch and bracelet have a reassuring heft to it and yet it is not heavy, within the ideal range for a bracelet watch I would say. The 40mm oyster case is perfectly proportioned as I expected from my Submariner experiences. That said the overall experience is very different from the sub.

In addition to the case and bracelet, the 4130 movement was a big plus as well. The movement has already achieved legendary status I think and is one of, if not THE best automatic chronograph movement ever made and time proven over the last 15 years. I found the chronograph pushers unsurprisingly very pleasant to use. The action is very smooth although it does require more pressure than the pushers on my GO Panograph. When it does actuate it does so with a satisfying click typical of a well made column wheel movement rather than the dull thud of a lever type chronono. The 72 hours power reserve is a nice plus for putting the watch in rotation too.




Pictured next to the sub. The Subs old school bracelet and clasp feel flimsy in comparison although it is quite comfortable. The Daytona is of course much blingier with all its polished surfaces. That also makes it quite a bit harder to photograph well.

The first few scratches are really going to bother me! Although that will pass once its picked up enough that no single scratch draws too much attention





Anyway I don't think my thoughts are very coherent at the moment. I am still just drinking it all in I'll try and post something more comprehensive including lots of closeups after some time.

[FuzzyB]

Congratulations! That is lovely. I like your reasoning on the dial color, too. An excellent choice and an even better long-term plan!

[iyonk]

Amazing!! sweet score.. look great on you!

[tempocalypse]

Amazing!! sweet score.. look great on you!

Thanks a lot lyonk!

Congratulations! That is lovely. I like your reasoning on the dial color, too. An excellent choice and an even better long-term plan!

Thanks! For the long term I am actually thinking that instead of focussing on watches like the 1675 GMT or the Zenith Daytona to go straight for the 6263. Such would require some discipline from me and not buy any additional watches for about 18 months... is such a feat possible? After all those Zeniths and GMTs arent going anywhere fast but the price of vintage Daytonas continue to rise inexorably. We shall see...

[Steppy]

Looks great next to its brother. Great size too, not huge like a lot of chronographs out there

[-JP]

Congrats and I agree. Silver hands go very well with the contrasting black dial. Good choice for sure!

[gnuyork]

Anyway I don't think my thoughts are very coherent at the moment. I am still just drinking it all in

Outstanding! And let me just say, now that you have this shiny new chronograph (and your thoughts aren't coherent), if you get bored with the broad arrow, I'll send you my address

[mlcor]

Gorgeous, congratulations! I also really like the black dial version.

[Nutty28]

Congrats!! Another great watch added into your already stunning collection. I am also in favor of your idea of focusing on the 6263, and not get distracted.

Once again, congrats!


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[bu11itt]

Very nice. I'm not a chrono guy at all, but I think I could see myself wearing that one. Very subdued (even with the PCL's) compared to a lot of other chronos.