DAYTONA RAINBOW MODEL, REF. 116595RBOW, CIRCA 2019

The Rolex Daytona Rainbow is a modern icon, instantly recognizable the world over and by far the most sought after of all modern Daytonas. Due to Rolex’s painstaking standards of stone matching and finishing, only a handful are made each year and demand vastly exceeds supply, consequently the ‘Rainbow Daytona’ is virtually impossible to obtain. Most often fitted with a black dial, the present pink gold version is one of the few to have the splendid full pavé diamond-set dial with ‘rainbow’ baguette sapphire indexes. To the best of our knowledge, the present pristine watch is only the second example of this model to be offered at international auction.
First introduced in 2012, the Daytona Rainbow is the most impressive and appealing of Rolex’s gem-set creations. The model was launched to widespread acclaim and is highly appreciated by collectors for its complete shake up of tradition and the superb quality of the gem-set bezel with its painstakingly selected colour-matched stones. The first examples were in yellow gold, followed by white gold and in 2018 the ‘Everose’ pink gold version was introduced with rainbow indexes and a choice of black or pavé diamond-set dial. The pink gold Daytona Rainbow is regarded by many as the most beautiful version due to the harmonious blend of warm pink gold and coloured stones. The case is further enhanced with white diamonds on the lugs and crown guards.
The uniformity of the gems in respect to their colour and shape is quite exceptional. In fact, Rolex takes extreme care in ensuring that all the stones on each individual watch are of the same shade. This sorting process is carried out by hand and by machines that are usually only found in gemological laboratories. The result is quite remarkable and is what imbues these watches with an arresting quality that is hard to define.