Rolex Daytona 'APH' Dial, c. 2010

Dealer description — Analog/Shift

Why We Love It We all know the Daytona Story, and it has proven to be a big favorite among the collectors. Why? Rolex's brilliant motorsports chronograph is in pole position in any category, vintage or modern. And while current automatic versions admittedly don't generally do as much for us as a nice hand-cranking example, a Daytona is a Daytona, and that is just fine with us. This particular G-serial Reference 116520 dates to circa 2010 and is in outstanding condition throughout. The Reference 116520 features a stainless steel case, gloss white dial with silver subsidiary dial rings, and Rolex's first crack at an in-house automatic-winding chronograph movement - the Calibre 4130. This example is differentiated from most 116520s by a small yet significant detail on the dial. Nicknamed the 'APH' dial for a small spacing error in the word 'Cosmogr aph', which only appears in a short serial range, these variants have become highly sought after in the Rolex collector community. If its one thing that gets Rolex collectors excited - it's tiny font variations and printing mix ups! Don't miss a chance to pick up this example - it will not last long. The Daytona Story The Rolex Daytona. King of the chronographs! Rolex first started experimenting making chronographs in the 1930s – first known as Cosmographs – which set the mold for what would ultimately evolve into the single best-known chronograph in the world. These early watches, like many chronographs of the period, had monochromatic dials and a tachymeter ring printed on the outer edge of the dial. The design of the Cosmograph gradually changed its dial configuration (a shift from monochrome to the "panda" color schemes now closely associated with the model), and a relocation of the tachymetric scale to the bezel, which made it a clear sportsman's watch. In 1964 Rolex added the name Daytona to the model (taken from the 24 Hours of Daytona Race which Rolex started sponsoring in 1962), and its motorsports association was cemented. The earliest Daytonas relied on that well known manually-wound workhorse movement - the Valjoux 72. But in 1988 Rolex released a Daytona using Zenith's El Primero movement, making the Cosmograph Daytona now worthy of the appellation "Oyster Perpetual." These "Zenith" Daytonas have gained serious traction over the past decade on the vintage chronograph market, with potential to appreciate in value to lofty heights. Still, Rolex has never been the sort of brand to rely on off the shelf parts for long, so when the Reference 116520 debuted in 2000 at Basel World, it made headlines. This led to the eventual introduction of the current production model, Reference 116500LN, fitted with a black ceramic bezel that is arguably the most in-demand sports watch on the planet. Whether your taste runs to Pre-Daytona Cosmographs, hand-cranking Valjoux 72 powered models from the 1960s-1980s, or an Automatic Zenith or In-House model, a Rolex Daytona is quite simply a world-class chronograph with a righteous amount of pomp and circumstance justifiably included.