When it comes to Rolex, the hottest style now is Daytona. The top one in the Daytona series of watches is Ref.116595RBOW, released in 2018. Because it is inlaid with a circle of colored sapphires, it is named “Rainbow Daytona.” The appearance is very high; even Tudor’s official spokesperson, Jay Chou, wears it.
In 2018, Rolex released the Rainbow Daytona, which re-set off a rainbow trend in the watch circle, and many brands also joined in. However, although they are all rainbows, they have significant differences. If you look closely at the configuration, you will find that the materials of the rainbow scale are very different. Rolex uses jewelry-grade sapphires, carefully selected and matched into a transitional and natural rainbow color while also ensuring the quality of the gems, presenting a transparent and rich feeling. Other brands need help to meet this high requirement, so they must settle for the next best thing, using relatively cheap purple crystal, topaz, tourmaline, tanzanite, tsavorite, spessartine, and chrysoberyl. Best replica watches.
As early as the 1980s, Rolex had already released watches with rainbow bezels, but in the Day-Date series. According to our previous understanding, the Rolex Rainbow Daytona can be traced back to the 116598RBOW gold and platinum models 2012. But in the legend, Rolex launched the Rainbow Daytona in the 1990s. In an interview with Eric Ku, a prominent foreign collector, he said that he had encountered it before, but it was so rare that he didn’t dare to confirm whether it was an original gem at the time. Therefore, he didn’t dare to buy it, so he regretted it and didn’t even leave a photo.
Today, Phillips Auction House announced that it will auction an original inlaid Ref.16599 rainbow bezel in Geneva in November this year. This legendary watch was made public. According to the model, it should have been produced in the 1990s. This pushes the birth of Rainbow Daytona back nearly 20 years. It is reported that this Rainbow Daytona uses an 18K white gold case and is equipped with a Zenith El Primero movement modified by Rolex. In addition to the outer ring being a gradient sapphire, the dial is inlaid with star-studded diamonds and sapphire scales. Fake watches for sale.
If only the movement were used as the standard, Rolex Daytona could be divided into three generations. They are the manual movement Valjoux 72, the automatic movement Zenith El Primero, and the self-produced Cal.4130. According to the data obtained by Phillips, the appearance of this Ref.16599 should be regarded as the earliest Rainbow Daytona of Rolex, and it cannot be earlier. Its birth also has a significant historical background.
At that time, the Rolex Daytona, equipped with a manual Valjoux 72 movement, was still a tool watch and even a slow-selling product in a particular era. Therefore, Rolex can’t mass-produce a first-generation manual Daytona or customize this valuable rainbow bezel gem Daytona. At the Basel Watch Fair in 1988, Rolex released the second generation of Daytona, which uses the Zenith El Primero automatic movement. After the “quartz crisis” in the 1970s and 1980s, which led to a massive change in the structure of the world’s watch industry due to the popularity of quartz watches, the high-end watchmaking industry was reborn in the 1980s and 1990s, ushering in the revival of mechanical creativity. Therefore, in the 1990s, Rolex launched this Ref.16599 with an 18k white gold case and rainbow outer bezel. According to the current number of appearances, this watch will likely be a custom-made orphan or a particular model with a single-digit production. It is an important historical witness to Rolex’s move towards luxury goods. Currently, Phillips estimates that it is worth more than 25 million RMB.
Engine: Rolex Calibre 7750/Mingzhu Engine
Gender: Men’s
Series: Daytona
Brand: Rolex
Band Length: 18cm
Case Thickness: 16mm
Band Width: 20mm
Band Color: Gold-tone
Model: 116598RBOW