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Lot Essay
The present watch is offered in excellent, almost “new old stock” condition. Most of the protective plastic seals are intact as is the Rolex hologram sticker on the back.
With the advent of the new millennium, Rolex decided to release a new version of their iconic Daytona chronograph. Introduced at the Basel fair in year 2000, the case had been redesigned with new glossy lugs and was manufactured with a bracelet with solid links. The chronograph was assembled with the new movement caliber 4130, which lead the sub-register for running seconds to move from 9 to 6 o'clock.
Rolex has always been restless in regard to upgrading and perfecting their timepieces, and to testing different dial variations. Most often, such trial timepieces – which can for all intents and purposes be called prototypes – were actually commercialized, instead of being subject to focus groups and market tests, and then stored back in Rolex’s vault in Geneva. After all, there is no best way to check market feedback than, well, place the watch on the market.
This policy is the “raison d’etre” of some of the scarcest and most collectible timepieces the manufacturer ever produced, such as the present piece. Defined by the full Arabic radial five minutes divisions, furthermore in addition to the blue sodalite dial, it is known in extremely scarce quantities, so much that it is considered one of the rarest modern production Daytonas,
With the advent of the new millennium, Rolex decided to release a new version of their iconic Daytona chronograph. Introduced at the Basel fair in year 2000, the case had been redesigned with new glossy lugs and was manufactured with a bracelet with solid links. The chronograph was assembled with the new movement caliber 4130, which lead the sub-register for running seconds to move from 9 to 6 o'clock.
Rolex has always been restless in regard to upgrading and perfecting their timepieces, and to testing different dial variations. Most often, such trial timepieces – which can for all intents and purposes be called prototypes – were actually commercialized, instead of being subject to focus groups and market tests, and then stored back in Rolex’s vault in Geneva. After all, there is no best way to check market feedback than, well, place the watch on the market.
This policy is the “raison d’etre” of some of the scarcest and most collectible timepieces the manufacturer ever produced, such as the present piece. Defined by the full Arabic radial five minutes divisions, furthermore in addition to the blue sodalite dial, it is known in extremely scarce quantities, so much that it is considered one of the rarest modern production Daytonas,