Rolex Daytona Ref. 16528 - 'Inverted 6' Dial

The Rolex Daytona has long been one of the most desirable chronographs in production, which is funny for a model that was initially off to a slow sales start! While early Daytona models were always undergoing changes to reference numbers and dial configurations - the one thing they had in common was their manually wound movements. Every Daytona variant was based on the iconic Valjoux 72 chronograph, until 1988. That was when Rolex borrowed another iconic calibre to upgrade the model from manually wound to automatic. That movement? The Zenith “El Primero.”

Rolex decided to outsource for their movement in this reference using the Zenith 400 movement originally manufactured for the Zenith “El-Primero.” They used this movement as the basis and then fortified it, performing approximately 200 modifications to the base movement to meet the expectations prestigious of the brand. This created the workhorse Rolex 4030 movement that was put in production for an era of 12 years. In this reference, Rolex also incorporated the more resilient sapphire crystals, a contributing factor to the increased depth rating guaranteed at 100m or 330ft.

The present example is made all the more special by its solid 18K yellow gold case, and its very rare inverted 6 Dial. The dial is an incredibly crisp ‘panda’ configuration with the highly desirable inverted 6 text. The dial is in fantastic condition and has an equally well preserved case, which is still fitted to its factory Oyster bracelet. The Rolex Daytona is often a milestone watch for many collectors - and of course is given out as a trophy at many prestigious events - so what better way to celebrate than with a solid gold example of Rolex’s iconic racing chronograph!