Rolex - TOKI: Watch Auction Hong Kong Friday, November 22, 2024 | Phillips
  • Manufacturer: Rolex
    Year: Circa 1997
    Reference No: 16520
    Case No: U603’066
    Model Name: Cosmograph Daytona
    Material: Stainless steel
    Calibre: Automatic, cal. 4030, 31 jewels
    Bracelet/Strap: Stainless steel Rolex Oyster bracelet stamped “78390”, endlinks stamped “503B”, max length 185mm
    Clasp/Buckle: Stainless steel Rolex Oyster deployant clasp stamped “U6”
    Dimensions: 40mm diameter
    Signed: Case, dial, movement, bracelet and clasp signed
    Accessories: Accompanied by Rolex guarantee stamped Matsuzakaya, Nagoya dated 26th September 1998, instruction manual, product literature, green leather wallet, hang tag, fitted presentation box and outer packaging.

  • Catalogue Essay

    The reference 16520 is considered one of Rolex's most innovative models ever produced, as it was the first Daytona to feature an automatic movement. When this model was introduced in 1988, it became an instant cult favorite among enthusiasts and quickly garnered a waiting list at Rolex retailers.

    Over the years, the "Zenith Daytona" has become even more collectible due to its rarity, handsome aesthetics, and its important status within Rolex's history. With the model's growing popularity, most of the watches are being worn and seen on the wrists of collectors, while examples still preserved in "new-old-stock" condition are extremely rare to find.

    The present “new-old-stock” white dial example not only still retains the original Japanese caseback sticker, but the case, bracelet, and clasp are all wrapped in original plastic as if it was delivered directly from the retailer. The U-serial 16520 features a regular-6 dial and was produced from 1997 to 1998.This watch with a serial of "U603'066" still bears the Tritium lumes, as indicated by the "T Swiss Made T" dial, making it one of the last batches to leave the manufacture before Rolex started to use another luminescent material named LumiNova, manufactured by the Japanese company Nemoto & Co., which began to be seen in the late U-serial examples.

    The watch is further accompanied by the full set of original Japanese accessories, including the guarantee, presentation box with the reference number sticker, and even the stickers and wrapping paper from one of the oldest department stores in Japan – Matsuzakaya, Nagoya, where it was first purchased.

  • Artist Biography

    Rolex

    Swiss • 1905

    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.

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Property of the Original Owner

2

Ref. 16520
An attractive and “new-old-stock” stainless steel chronograph wristwatch with bracelet, guarantee and presentation box

Circa 1997
40mm diameter
Case, dial, movement, bracelet and clasp signed

Estimate
HK$150,000 - 230,000 
€17,300-26,500
$19,200-29,500

Sold for HK$330,200

Contact Specialist

Thomas Perazzi
Head of Watches, Asia
+852 2318 2030
WatchesHK@phillips.com

Gertrude Wong
Head of Sale, Hong Kong
+852 2318 2045
gertrudewong@phillips.com

TOKI: Watch Auction

Hong Kong Auction 22 November