製造商: Rolex 年份: 2002 型號: 116520 機芯編號: C0023104 錶殼號碼: P421718 型號名稱: Cosmograph Daytona, "The Winner" 材料: Stainless steel 機芯: Automatic, cal. 4130, 44 jewels 錶帶/ 錶鏈: Stainless steel Rolex Oyster bracelet, max length 190mm 錶扣: Stainless steel Rolex Oyster deployant clasp stamped "DE6 and "78490" 尺寸: 40mm Diameter 簽名: Case, dial, movement and clasp signed 配件: Accompanied by Rolex Service Guarantee card dated December 14, 2020, Service invoice and travel pouch.
圖錄文章
Reference 116520 made history as it was the very first Daytona to feature a fully in-house Rolex movement (abandoning the Zenith El Primero calibre used for the previous automatic Daytona: 16520).
The present example is without a doubt one of the most collectable to come out of the factory, as not only it is an extremely early "P series" example, a detail which in itself already places the present watch above its standard peers. Most importantly, however, this is a "Winner" Daytona.
Rolex, capitalizing on - and keeping alive - its historical roots of "tools watch" company, sponsors a number of sports events worldwide in the most disparate fields, from sailing to, in this instance, car racing. Watches awarded to the winners of these competitions are extremely sought-after in virtue of a number of reasons: they are virtually unique pieces, as each watch is usually engraved to the back with a commemorative inscription, but most importantly they are the purest form, in modern times - of Rolex DNA: a brand which makes watches unsurpassably reliable and dedicated to the world's foremost athletes, racers and explorers.
Research on the present timepiece shows that it was awarded to Chris Bingham, the 2002 winner of the "Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series" (GTS class). The event, held between 2000 and 2013, included a series of races across different classes (including prototypes and more classical Grand Touring-style categories). In 2013 the association merged with the America Le Mans Series to form the Unified SportsCar Racing. A celebrated racing driver, Bingham first commenced his professional racing career with four Indy Lights starts in 1997 and also participated in the 24 Hours of Daytona in a GT3-class Porsche. Having participated in the Grand American Road Racing Championship for a second time 2002, Chris Bingham had won the title for a second championship and was offered the present watch upon his victory.
Founded in 1905 England by Hans Wilsdorf and Alfred Davis as Wilsdorf & Davis, it soon became known as the Rolex Watch Company in 1915, moving its headquarters to Geneva in 1919. Like no other company, the success of the wristwatch can be attributed to many of Rolex's innovations that made them one of the most respected and well-known of all luxury brands. These innovations include their famous "Oyster" case — the world's first water resistant and dustproof watch case, invented in 1926 — and their "Perpetual" — the first reliable self-winding movement for wristwatches launched in 1933. They would form the foundation for Rolex's Datejust and Day-Date, respectively introduced in 1945 and 1956, but also importantly for their sports watches, such as the Explorer, Submariner and GMT-Master launched in the mid-1950s.
One of its most famous models is the Cosmograph Daytona. Launched in 1963, these chronographs are without any doubt amongst the most iconic and coveted of all collectible wristwatches. Other key collectible models include their most complicated vintage watches, including references 8171 and 6062 with triple calendar and moon phase, "Jean Claude Killy" triple date chronograph models and the Submariner, including early "big-crown" models and military-issued variants.