This text was first printed on Challenge #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 could be one of many world’s most talked about watches this yr. If you happen to scan simply the pages of our summer time situation for World of Watches, you may start to suppose that this can be true. To make an extended story brief, it isn’t — whereas the 60^th 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 outstanding 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 immediately in regards to 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 totally different about this new reference, a few of that are stunning. House is definitely 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 all over the place, together with the subdials whose tracks at the moment are noticeably slimmer. The case itself is slimmer than the outgoing mannequin, however the specs say nothing about this.

It ought to be famous that the visible and tactile adjustments will solely be apparent to individuals who have worn and dealt with the newest reference and the outgoing one. When you’ve got expertise with extra variations of this storied chronograph, you’ll have a deeper appreciation for the evolutionary journey of the Daytona even in the event you do have a favorite set of options. If you’re completely new to the Daytona, then this won’t matter in any respect. In truth, issues shall be clearer in some methods as a result of Rolex is shifting in the direction of standardising components 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 also 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, probably for protecting causes however that is merely hypothesis on our half.

All photographs courtesy of Rolex.

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