In-Depth The Rolex Cosmograph Daytona Reference 126502 In Rolesium With Enamel Dial And Grey Bezel
Five Things I Don’t Love About The Rolex Daytona Reference 126502
1. That it’s Rolesium, and not just Oystersteel. The platinum accents are so small that, while they are a different shade of white, they are barely discernible from steel. So it adds some weight and some sheen, but also some cost.
2. That it has an open case back. This isn’t a new gripe – the Le Mans is literally my favorite watch, but I believe a Rolex should have a closed case back. They don’t need to play the game everyone else does by showing off what’s inside.
3. That it’s off-catalog. What this means is that you are even less likely to see a 126502 in an AD than you are a steel Daytona. A watch this revelatory for Rolex should exist as a totem for all to see what Rolex does best – innovate, quietly and confidently.
4. The price. $57,800 is, as stated, more than a full gold Daytona, and this watch is 90% Oystersteel. Yes, there’s a ton of new tech and materials used here, but the core of the watch (being the case and the caliber) is existing designs. I think the community is really going to struggle with the pricing strategy, even though, after I’ve pored over the patents, I fully understand just how impressive both the dial and bezel work is. Most people won’t take the time to do that.
5. That’s it. I can’t come up with a fifth thing I don’t like.
Five Things I Love About The Rolex Daytona Reference 126502
1. The enamel dial! I love them. Always have, always will. My favorite Patek is, as you know, a 2526, which has a dial that looks a heck of a lot like this new Daytona’s! Only that was a single piece, and this is four pieces. So cool to see one in a Daytona.
2. The bezel! This one, I could write an entire story on. First, superficially, it’s grey, and I’ve made a career out of taking cool things and making them grey (lol, but actually). Second, this new patent-pending tungstide zirconia Cerachom actually looks metallic, a lot like a Zenith Daytona or 6239! Two of my absolute favorites. Beyond that, the text is now more like those old watches, and that is just awesome.
3. That it’s Rolesium, and not a fully precious metal watch. Imagine the price then? And in a mostly steel watch, you get a dose of the purest expression of Daytona.
4. The caliber 4131, which is actually a caliber I do not own yet, is now subject to Rolex’s updated standards for Superlative Chronometer certification, which includes anti-magnetism, reliability, and sustainability. Beyond that, it’s rated to -2 / +2 seconds per day. That is a materially tight standard of precision.
5. What will this Daytona mean for the future of Rolex watches? Enamel dials on sports watches? Entirely new executions of colors and formats for bezels? Special editions that harken back directly to neo-vintage references? Come on. If this is the first of any of those, that’s a huge win for the Rolex nerd community.
