Since I was a kid, I have had an affinity for the Rolex Daytona. I learned about it from the world of motorsports and from Hollywood personalities like Paul Newman. It enjoys the lifelong status of a grail watch in my collection. Rolex has always been one of the brands that really appealed to me, from the early 1970s adverts in National Geographic to the explorers, divers, and mountaineers who wore them on their wrists. The Daytona, however, was rarely seen in the stories in National Geographic. Rather, I’d spot them in articles on sports personalities, i.e., race car drivers, and people connected to Formula 1 and the legendary Le Mans race.
Winners raising their trophy and revealing that sexy chronograph watch greatly impacted young me. After all, the Rolex Daytona is a watch built for speed—or at least built to measure speed via the chronograph and tachymeter scale. Hence, the connection to speed rather than exploring, rock climbing, and deep diving. When I was a kid, the Daytona was a four-digit, 37 mm chronograph watch with manual wind, ref. 6263. But when Rolex introduced the five-digit ref. 16520 in 1988, with a diameter of 40 mm and an automatic El Primero movement manufactured by Zenith (and heavily modified by Rolex, mind you), my interest in the watch grew.
However, the five-digit Daytona became the first-ever Rolex to have a waiting list. So, not only could I not afford it when I was a young man, I also could not get my hands on it. Which made the Rolex Daytona a dream watch made of unobtainium, so to say.
My First Daytona: Ref. 116520
I was 30 years old when I finally got a chance to buy a Daytona. It was, however, a six-digit Daytona with an in-house movement—a watch introduced the same year, in 2000. The only reason why I could jump the waiting list was a trade I made with my local retailer. I had a rare Rolex Submariner that he spotted on my wrist.
“Wonderful watch, want to sell it?” the retailer said.
“I won’t sell it, no. But I will trade it for a Daytona,” was my cheeky response.
The retailer was a fair man. The trade was made, and I recall going to a restaurant after receiving the watch to celebrate the moment. It was a big thing. Back then, there was a waiting list of six to seven years—the same as today. I cherished the black-dial six-digit Daytona and traveled with it a lot. When traveling, I wore it like a sailor wears his gold earring: as insurance. I thought that if anything happened to my daughter, I could always bribe a helicopter pilot with the watch and have him take us to the nearest hospital. After all, a Rolex Daytona is a strong currency in any country.
I don’t recall for how long I owned the 116520. Maybe I traded it for a Panerai, which I passionately collected for many years. But that was not the end of my relationship with the great Daytona. I often ran into a five-digit Daytona with a white dial as I helped a vintage watch shop during the late 1990s. One of the employees wore the white-dial Daytona, and it looked good on her. However, wearing a white-dial Daytona somewhat feminized this bright-dial version of my long-time favorite Rolex.
About White-Dial Daytonas
The Daytona with a black Cerachrom bezel was introduced in 2016, and I remember trying it on during Baselworld that year. It made an impression on me. But it did not bedazzle me like my first Daytona did. After all, in 2016, I was a grown man, a father of two with a mortgage and two cars in the garage. I am not saying that money was tight, but I was in the middle of a company start-up, which meant my salary was nothing compared to my years as an art director in advertising.
Nevertheless, I did not say no when my local Rolex retailer called me in 2018, asking if I was interested in a new Daytona. The retailer, mind you, was the beautiful woman with the white-dial Daytona—my ex-girlfriend.
When she presented the watch, I asked if she had a black-dial version. She said: “Don’t be stupid. Don’t say no to this one.” So, I ended up with a white-dial Daytona ref. 116500LN—the dial color that I once found feminine. However, I loved this watch. It gave a sense of luxurious excitement every time I put it on my wrist.
Mind you, this was in 2018. And during a keynote talk, I mentioned how crazy the market was, the 116500 Daytona being offered at double the retail price. One of the guests asked me where I could find a Daytona at that price, and I soon realized that a white-dial Daytona kept increasing in price. When the market peaked in February 2022, a ref. 116500LN with a white dial was offered (and sold) at around €45,000, while the retail price was around €12,000.
Being in the watch industry and often on the road meeting colleagues from around the world, I soon realized that I was not the only one with a white-dial 116500LN Daytona. Many of my friends and colleagues also sported this watch, which made me start looking for the five-digit, Zenith-powered Daytona.
One Step Closer: My Five-Digit Daytona “Patrizzi” Dial
I spent ten years in the auction business, building up a watch department. During these years, several five-digit Daytonas came in for valuation. Some of them went to auction, but not many. Then, I realized that there are not many five-digit Daytonas out there—or at least, many owners do not part with them.
In an Instagram post a few years back, I shared a picture of a five-digit Daytona, and my caption indicated regret at never having bought one while prices were reasonable. This was in 2022, and the prices of this model were starting to move north.
A Danish vintage watch retailer sent me a DM with a picture of a very nice black “Patrizzi” dial ref. 16520 from 1999. Fully serviced but with no box and papers. The price was not low, but it was not crazy high either. Rather, I think it was just fair. After all, Patrizzi Daytonas still enjoy a higher value than “regular” ref. 16520s.
By the way, a Patrizzi Daytona has dark rims around the chronograph counters. This is probably due to a bad-quality varnish rather than age and patina. It was named after former auctioneer Osvaldo Patrizzi, who was the first to introduce Daytonas with this coveted phenomenon.
The Final Piece of My Collection (So Far): The Five-Digit Daytona Ref. 16520
Imperfection is collectible when talking vintage Rolex. Buying this Daytona changed my collecting habits. I started looking more into vintage Rolex than new models. Old is gold, so to say. And I thought I was solid with this perfect Patrizzi Daytona in my collection. But then a white-dial Daytona from 1996 appeared. It was a complete set, even including the coveted racing booklet, and was sold at my local retailer in 1997. How could I resist?
When I picked up the white-dial ref. 16520 about a year ago, the former owner stressed the value of the racing booklet. However, I somewhat ignored him as I was in awe of the beauty of this stunner. The very same watch that sat on the wrist of my ex-girlfriend, now boutique manager of my local Rolex retailer. (No, I do not get any new Rolexes any faster than anybody else just because of our past.)
I did not go to a restaurant to celebrate this new purchase. Instead, I went home and compared my two five-digit Daytonas and decided that I was good now. I had a solid Rolex Daytona collection, but I also realized that owning three Daytonas was probably a little over the top. However, love is connected to insanity, and collecting watches can be perceived as insane by onlookers and non-watch enthusiasts. A Rolex Daytona still enjoys the privilege of unattainability. The waiting lists are still very long. That being said, Rolex enjoys the success of being one of the most coveted watch brands, and “if in doubt, buy a Rolex” is a more valid purchasing strategy when many other brands are facing more challenging times. It certainly is a buyer’s market these days. And I will, at some point, benefit from that because my five-digit Daytona collection is not complete until I’ve added a full-gold version.
Ahhhh, isn’t watch collecting just a bag of fun? And a little insane…
