Passions Watch Exchange

About This Watch

Pre-owned. Comes with orig. lacquered wooden box & outer box with tags but no paper.

This watch received attention with Rolex service center and left on 22 Feb 2019 @ a cost of more than S$1000 spent after a new dial and hands set replacement along with a basic service charge. The watch was inspected and movement does not require a service and instructions were given not to polish it as we collectors prefer. (A polish can be performed for you upon request and this watch is sold with a full service by us within two years of purchase) A protection sticker is intact on the back cover which shows some marks on the images here so it is actually the sticker and not on the gold back cover.

With prices of Zenith Steel Daytona in black dial surpassing S$30K, it makes perfect sense to own the solid gold elder brother and black dial is most stunning with the contrast and as the saying, "Steel is for boys and gold for men".

The origins of the Rolex Cosmograph traces back to 1963, with the introduction of reference 6240/39. It was the ultimate tool watch for racing drivers and immortalised by the actor Paul Newman with an original example of his watch sold for a world shattering US$17.8 million (including commission) in 2017. The word Daytona was introduced on the dial when Rolex became the official timekeeper of the annual 24 Hours of Daytona race held on the Daytona Beach in Florida.

In 1988, Rolex introduced the the first generation of automatic Daytonas, with the ref.16520 in steel and this ref.16528 in yellow gold. For the first time in history, the Rolex chronograph housed an automatic movement based on the Zenith calibre 4030 and a sapphire crystal was fitted while the case was enlarged to 39mm. However, the hi-beat 36000 Zenith El Primero movement was deemed to be too fast, causing pre-mature wear to the lubricants so the engineers at Rolex replaced the complete balance set and reduced the "speed" to their regular 28800 vph.

Our watch here features the correct Mark III bezel, where “Units per hour" is engraved at the one o'clock position and 240 shown while 225 and 250 are missing.

The solid gold case is in splendid condition and bezel has mild wear only with nothing excessive while the lugs are thick and bracelet tight. All gold hallmarks are highly visible and the gold exhibits some dark patina on the edges due to oxidization which gives it a vintage appearance. The dial & hands set is a new replacement by Rolex that has super-luminova which glows in darkness which is great for daily wear. There's no more guessing for time while driving at night or in the movies.

Our Daytona here is sold with warranty and free polishing upon request. A delectable watch not to be missed.