Manufacturer: Rolex Year: Circa 2001 Reference No: 116589 Case No: K583508 Model Name: Cosmograph Daytona Material: 18K white gold, diamonds, sodalite Calibre: Automatic, cal. 4130, 44 jewels Bracelet/Strap: Leather Clasp/Buckle: 18K white gold Rolex deployant clasp, numbered 24650, stamped MA Dimensions: 40mm Diameter Signed: Case, dial, movement, and clasp signed. Accessories: Accompanied by Rolex service guarantee card and Rolex crocodile strap.
Catalogue Essay
Excluding the mythical reference 6270 and 6269, Rolex hardly ever embellished their chronograph models with precious stones. Yet, with the introduction of the automatic Daytona, the manufacture gradually incorporated elaborate, gem-set designs in its line of production due to changing tastes in the market. In the year 2000, after over a decade of the Zenith El Primero-based caliber 4030, Rolex debuted the in-house caliber 4130 to power its automatic Daytona, and the increase in gem-set, hard stone dial, and precious metal pieces turned from a trickle into a steady stream of extravagant delights lavished upon the Cosmograph Daytona.
The present 116589 from 2001, cased in 18K white gold with a baguette diamond-set bezel and sodalite diamond dial, is an especially rare and stunning configuration. Sodalite, though commonly found in jewelry and watches as a mottled royal blue streaked with white and clear inclusions, actually occurs naturally in a wide variety of colors and is quite brittle and fragile due to its high sodium content (hence the name, sodalite). Again, Rolex shows its mettle in finding pieces of stone that are free of natural flaws or fissures, able to be cut, polished, and shaped to perfection. There is a transparency and lightness to sodalite that isn’t found in other blue stones such as lapis or turquoise, and the mottling and inclusions give sodalite dials an intense amount of character.
The present pairing of a sodalite dial appointed with diamond hour markers, and a factory baguette diamond bezel, is further accentuated by a perfectly preserved, unpolished case still retaining its caseback sticker. The present Daytona accomplishes extravagance with charm and aplomb - a rare Rolex jewel for its next owner.
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.
