1998 Rolex Zenith Daytona White 40mm 16520 on Bracelet
Ref: 16520
Specification
Lugs : 20mm
Condition : Pre-Owned
Box & Papers : None
Case Material : Stainless Steel
Warranty : 12-Months NON-Waterproof Warranty
Points of Mention
This watch is sold “Watch Only” with a 2022 Rolex Service card and a bezel protector. The watch comes paired with its original 20mm polished and brushed Rolex Oyster bracelet, secured by a signed folding deployment clasp and flip lock, link count of 12. The watch is from Circa. 1998 and is in worn but fair condition for its age. The watch comes with our 12-Months NON-Waterproof Warranty.
For more photos see here - https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Rkd3ojDhYe8XuweQmPVPgl2TVuPTVuTj?usp=drive_link
4K YouTube video, skip to 3:09 - https://youtu.be/ll3JzXUjG04
The Watch
Here we have an iconic 1998 Rolex Zenith Daytona White 16520 on a Bracelet with a curvaceous 40mm Stainless steel Oyster case, the case curves over your wrist with a lug-to-lug length of 46mm and a case thickness of 12mm giving the watch an impressive wrist presence. Brushed and polished surfaces transition with crisp well-defined lines. Down the right side, we have the screw-down pushers and in the centre, a signed screw-down crown protected by crown guards. The sloping wide stainless steel fixed bezel has an engraved Tachymeter scale, the bevel-edged flat sapphire crystal sits above a striking crisp white dial. An outer minute track is precisely executed surrounding applied bullet-shaped indexes infilled with tritium marking the hours, at 3 o’clock a 30-minute register, at 6 o’clock a 12-hour register and finally, at 9 o’clock a small seconds register, each with a black ring and silver numerals. Slender sword hands are filled with tritium. The text is printed at 12 o’clock under the applied Rolex coronet “Rolex Oyster Perpetual Superlative Chronometer Officially Certified Cosmograph” and above the 6 o’clock register a red “Daytona”. The perfectly balanced chronograph is expertly put together with all the refinement and craftsmanship you come to expect from Rolex. On the reverse, a coin-edged screw-down case back, inside an automatic Rolex Cal. 4030, 31 jewels, 28,800 beats per hour, released in 1988 based on the iconic Zenith El Primero 400 but is heavily modified by Rolex to meet their exacting standards, reducing the beat rate from 36,000 to a less wearing 28,800 Beats per hour, this column-wheel movement has the date removed, fitted with a new escapement, Breguet overcoil and a free-sprung Glucydur balance wheel fitted. The watch comes fitted on its 20mm polished and brushed Rolex Oyster stainless steel bracelet, secured by a signed folding deployment clasp and flip lock, link count of 12, and this watch is sold with a Rolex Service card, provided by Rolex when they did a 2022 Service and bezel protector.
Personal Note
It doesn't get more iconic than the Rolex Daytona, and for the real watch nerds out there, specifically the Zenith Daytona! Featuring the beautifully contrasted black subdials against the jet white dial, and the perfectly aligned 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock subdials (my apologies to anyone who hadn't noticed this before on the non-Zenith models!)... I really could go on, it is the watch that ticks so many boxes and looks beautiful on the wrist. If you are interested I would highly recommend booking an appointment to come and see it in the metal for yourself.
The Brand
In 1905, German-born Hans Wilsdorf and his brother-in-law Alfred Davis set up a company in London that imported Swiss movements which were installed in British cases and sold to jewellers who put their names on the dials. Recognising the potential for their brand, Wilsdorf created the brand name Rolex in 1908. In 1910, a Rolex became the first wristwatch to carry the Swiss Certificate of Chronometric Precision, awarded by the Official Watch Rating Centre in Bienne, Switzerland. Demand for Rolex watches rose swiftly, and British taxes on the Swiss movements Rolex used prompted Wilsdorf to move the business to Geneva, Switzerland, in 1919. With production costs lowered, Wilsdorf quickly set out to solve the age-old problem of moisture and dust entering a watch case and damaging the movement. The Rolex watchmakers came up with a fully sealed watch case, which Wilsdorf named the Oyster, and released to an appreciative audience in 1926. In 1931, Rolex introduced the first automatic winding wristwatch, giving it the legendary name Oyster Perpetual. In 1945, they released the Datejust. The Datejust was the first watch to have the date jump instantaneously at midnight. The 1950s saw a whole lot of releases such as the Air-King (1958), the Explorer (1953), the Submariner (1953), the GMT Master (1955), the Day-Date (1956), the electromagnetic field resistant Milgauss (1956), the Lady-Datejust (1957) and the first Deep Sea model (1960). Wilsdorf’s death in 1960, saw ownership of Rolex S.A. (a collection of sub-companies) passed to the Hans Wilsdorf Foundation which was founded by Wilsdorf in 1945, the mission of which is simply to sustain Rolex S.A. indefinitely.