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Unless you’re majorly hooked up with an authorized dealer, you’re probably never going to get a Rolex Daytona new at retail, especially not a steel one.
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We recently went to four authorized dealerships to inquire about buying a new steel Rolex Daytona, and were universally shot down. You can read that frustrating, yet amusing, story here. We also asked industry insiders whether Rolex was shorting the market in order to drive customers to the new Rolex Certified Pre-Owned program, and got a fairly wild set of speculative answers. However, when it comes to the Daytona Cosmograph, none of this is especially new—just far more extreme. In 2020 our esteemed colleague Lucy Alexander wrote about how to get your hands on the elusive Rolex Daytona, and, like us, came up short.
This is all bad news, because, as of this writing, a pre-owned Rolex Daytona is going to run you at least twice the retail price. The upshot? Well, you can actually get one before entering old age, and chances are that it will retain its value. But, unlike other watches we’ve been curating here—such as Rolex GMT Masters, Rolex more generally, Omega Speedmasters, Patek Philippe Nautilus and even the revered Audemars Piguet Royal Oak—the Daytona stubbornly just sits there at twice retail. As such, the modern Rolex Daytona has become the barometer for the overall health of the secondary market due to its consistent lack of availability at authorized dealers, as well as steady demand.
This week, we’ll be focusing on the modern Daytona in steel. This is the most approachable, if not the most accessible, configuration of the watch. It’s great with a t-shirt and jeans, and can easily be dressed to the 9s without looking out of place. It’s a great all around chronograph, and in steel it just hits a bit different. We’re defining the modern Daytona as six digit references that make use of the Rolex-built 4130 movement, and its subsequent iterations that persist to this day.
If you want to know more about the various digit-series of Rolex, you can also read our guide on buying a Rolex for the first time. Essentially, though, six-digit Rolexes began in the mid 2000s, with 2005 seeing the introduction of the first Cerachrom (ceramic) bezels.. However, the Daytona bezel remained steel until 2016. With this in mind, we are offering up both a black and white dial for the last three generations of six-digit Daytonas, including the first six-digit reference 116520 with steel bezel, the reference 116500 with ceramic bezel, and the current model reference 126500. That gives us a total of six listings. Please enjoy what we’ve curated!
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White Rolex Daytona Reference 116520 | $19,350
The 116520 is an important transition reference for the Daytona. Introduced in 2000, this was the first Daytona to use an in-house Rolex developed caliber 4130. This was the first six-digit reference of the Dayotna, replacing the outgoing 16520 that was known for its use of a heavily modified Zenith El Primero caliber. While this reference was similar in appearance to the previous generation, some subtle but important evolutionary changes can be found, the most prominent of which can be seen on the white dial.
The white dial moved from black outlines defining each of the three sub dials, to wider polished metal rings. Additionally, the thin hour markers were replaced with wider shapes. The hour markers may seem like a minor change, but they lead to a very different dial experience overall, and, along with the wider rings, make for a more substantial presence. This watch represents a bolder, modern vision of the Daytona, and would, in turn, set the tone for the following generation.
The 116520 would end up being the only modern Daytona with a steel bezel, which makes it somewhat unique. Enthusiasts will also point to this reference as bringing in a more luxurious tone to the collection as well, anchored by those polished steel surrounds on the dial moving away from the more legible black surrounds found in previous, as well as subsequent, references. The 40 mm asymmetrical case wears beautifully, which is a signature feature of all Daytonas, and when opting for the black dial, much of the character comes through while pushing the collection as a whole forward.
Black Rolex Daytona Reference 116520 | $23,000
This is the same reference as above with a black dial. While the red text on the white dial is often considered the more desirable model to own, the black is classic and, arguably, more versatile with suiting and formal wear.
White Rolex Daytona Reference 116500 | $38,950
On paper, it’s easy to look at the reference 116500, introduced in 2016, as a very minor evolution of the 116520. The case, dial, and movement are all mostly unchanged. The only real difference is the shift to a black Cerachrom bezel. That small change shifted the discussion around the Daytona in a big way, however. This is the reference that put the Daytona on the map for many newcomers, and provided a look that harkened back to the iconic four digit references that utilized black bezel inserts, such as the 6263, and 6241.
The sale of Paul Newman’s own Rolex Daytona ref. 6239 was a watershed moment for the collection as a whole, coming in 2017, just one year after the introduction of the 116500. Newman’s 6239 may have had a steel bezel, but it propelled the modern iteration with a black bezel into the stratosphere. The effects of this can still be felt today. The 116500 with a white dial also moved back to the black rings surrounding each of the sub dials, creating a striking high-contrast look that was instantly recognizable. This specific configuration made the already scarcely available watch nearly impossible to get, which is still very much the case today.
In hindsight, this reference is also unique as the last to feature the elegant, slightly smaller asymmetrical case. The profile of this watch flows beautifully into a point that terminates at the lug. This case was unique to the steel references in this generation, as the precious metal references featured slightly wider, symmetrical cases that used a case with a broader termination point at the lug, resulting in a flat area that doesn’t quite flow as gracefully as the steel case. This reference is highly collectible for a variety of reasons, but I feel that the case will end up being worthy of note to collectors in the future.
Black Rolex Daytona Reference 116500 | $24,999
This is the black version, and with the red text on the dial has that extra sporty pop you don’t get on the black version of the previous generation. This one comes from Bob’s Watches, a trusted seller we’ve worked with before.
White Rolex Daytona Reference 126500 | $35,500
In 2023, Rolex would celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Daytona with a new reference, the 126500. This watch would combine many of the popular features of the above references into a single watch, while also giving a nod to Daytonas of old. This reference will look very familiar at a glance, but there are a few big changes worth noting here. The first, and perhaps least obvious, is the new case.
For this generation, Rolex has unified the case shape of the Daytona between steel and precious metal references. That means that the 126500 gets the slightly broader symmetrical case with the larger lug termination, just like their precious metal stable mates. It still wears quite well, but it’s lost a touch of the grace of previous cases. This move does allow for a Daytona that appears ever so slightly larger on the wrist, without having to compromise the 40 mm diameter.
Next is the dial and bezel, which each get changes that reference vintage Daytona references. The dial has reverted back to the longer, thinner hour markers that we last saw in the 16520. Additionally, the sub dial surrounds have been thinned out to adjust the overall proportions of everything, leading to an overall more graceful appearance, if you ask me. This ties in with the new, thinner bezel as well. The black portion of the bezel is a hair thinner in this reference, as Rolex have added a steel surround that looks a great deal like the bezel assembly of vintage Daytona references. Here, the purpose is to protect the ceramic bezel element.
On the inside, Rolex have brought their latest movement features to the Dayatona in a new caliber called the 4131. This means a Paramagnetic blue Parachrom hairspring is regulated by a Chronergy escapement, and provides superlative chronometer accuracy as a result. The movement is tested to +/- 2 seconds per day. These are all welcome changes and bring the Daytona firmly into modern territory. As has always been the case with this watch, history will be the judge as to how collectors will ultimately view it, but this is the kind of building block that will provide a healthy future for the Daytona moving ahead.
Black Rolex Daytona Reference 126500 | $28,500
Handsome and versatile in black as well, the current model Daytona also has the red text that adds that bit of pizaz.
Please note that we are not affiliated with the sellers of the watches we recommend. We may point out aspects of a listing that we feel are positive, but only you can vet a seller. We can recommend viewing our video “How to Collect It: Vintage Watches” to glean some best practices, however.