Since the birth of the Rolex Daytona, the unlimited possibilities of the phenomenal chronograph became a true global sensation and captured the hearts of many enthusiast. Sculpted with rigorous attention to detail and precision, the quest of creating an identity for each revolutionary phase of a model is the key to Rolex’s immense success.

The face (dial) of a watch is nothing less than a true métier d’art with great artistic expertise and authenticity. Stepping at the forefront between the wearer and the mechanical movement, the dial has to communicate all information with strict legibility requirements, hours, minutes, seconds, date and meters within one canvas no more than 30mm. The choice of typography and unobstructed balance demands huge impact in the performance of a watch, especially for tools such as the legendary Daytona.

Enter the prototype that occupied its lifetime on workbenches of dial maker Singer, such as the present specimen of extreme rarity. Striped down to the bear minimum, the white canvas laid important grounds for the core foundation of the three-registered chronograph. According to scholars, only three variants of such are known, which all belong to the Zenith-based production of the cal. 4030. Fabricated for deep studies and professional usage by the firm for chronometer testing in forming the holistic vision of the Daytona, these dials are of extreme rarity and are true “wonder” of its kind.

The present dial belongs to the lot of COSC dials that Mr. Pucci Papaleo photographed in 2018 for the publication of the “Daytona Perpetual” book, which features similar details of the example that is illustrated in the book on page 119. Widely recognized as “Mr. Daytona”, the Italian scholar, collector-turned-author began his study of watches before this topic was broadly considered an area of study. Prior to his focused expertise on Daytona, Mr. Papaleo was interested in early Rolex and Patek Philippe chronographs, by the end of the 1980s, his attention and appetite grew stronger and stronger on chronographs of the Swiss manufacturer, Rolex, and particularly, the Daytona. Regarded as one of, if not “the”, most influential man in the world of vintage Daytona, his intricate study and scholarship are orchestrated in multiple opuses such as “The Ultimate Rolex Daytona” and the “Daytona Perpetual” that is delivered with the present lot.

Presented in an extremely attractive condition and representing a new dawn of the Zenith Daytona, the present lot makes its first debut public appearance. It is also accompanied with a written verification from the scholar himself, Mr. Pucci Papaleo, stating that the present dial is a similar example of the one illustrated in the “Daytona Perpetual” book, confirming the Singer provenance.