This text was first printed on Subject #69 of World of Watches.
Once we first noticed the brand new Rolex Oyster Perpetual Cosmograph Daytona at Watches and Wonders Geneva earlier this yr, we thought it was the standout from the assortment at Rolex. That successfully means it will be one of many world’s most talked about watches this yr. For those who scan simply the pages of our summer season difficulty for World of Watches, you may start to suppose that this can be true. To make an extended story quick, it isn’t — whereas the 60th anniversary of the world’s most vital chronograph sees the watch on the rostrum, the feedback sections on the Web are very eager on two vibrant stablemates.
The world has been right here earlier than, on the event of the fiftieth anniversary of the Cosmograph Daytona. The particular platinum model of the 2013 chronograph finally proved to be very influential. Bear that in thoughts when trying on the 2023 model with its exceptional exhibition caseback (a primary for the gathering). The platinum mannequin, reference 126506, is primarily a reference to the 2013 mannequin, additionally as a result of the aforementioned exhibition caseback permits us to speak straight concerning the new calibre 4131. This new calibre options the Rolex Chronergy escapement and different small enhancements (reportedly to the self-winding system) however the official specs stay unchanged.
To start with, the watch retains all its signature options and doesn’t see the introduction of a date mechanism or something drastic like that. There’s nonetheless sufficient that’s completely different about this new reference, a few of that are shocking. Area is actually one space we are able to get into, as a result of though the printed specs stay 40mm, the watch feels bigger. The brand new assortment does play with areas in every single place, together with the subdials whose tracks are actually noticeably slimmer. The case itself is slimmer than the outgoing mannequin, however the specs say nothing about this.
It must be famous that the visible and tactile modifications will solely be apparent to individuals who have worn and dealt with the most recent reference and the outgoing one. When you have expertise with extra variations of this storied chronograph, you should have a deeper appreciation for the evolutionary journey of the Daytona even in case you do have a favorite set of options. If you’re completely new to the Daytona, then this won’t matter in any respect. The truth is, issues might be clearer in some methods as a result of Rolex is shifting in the direction of standardising parts of the Daytona, together with the form of the lugs (now symmetrical in all variations).
The bezel ring, an instantly recognisable change for 2023, can be constant all through the vary of 5 present mannequin references. This ring is in the identical materials because the case, though fashions with valuable steel bezels will clearly not have this characteristic. The place it’s deployed, the bezel stays fully in Cerachrom, not as an insert — it has simply gotten a body now, presumably for protecting causes however that is merely hypothesis on our half.
All pictures courtesy of Rolex.
For extra reads on watches, click on right here.
