Reference:116506: Difference between revisions
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Deep audit: qualify platinum history, ground auction claims, humanize prose, and repair gallery |
Bound 116506 platinum and market claims to evidence |
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The 116506 is the first | The 116506 is the first platinum Cosmograph Daytona listed as a regular catalogue model, introduced at Baselworld 2013 for the model’s 50th anniversary. Earlier gem-set and special-order platinum Daytonas are a separate historical question and should not be conflated with this catalogue reference. It uses a 950-platinum case and bracelet, an ice-blue dial, a chestnut-brown Cerachrom bezel with platinum-coated tachymeter graduations, and caliber 4130. Rolex replaced it in the 2023 generation with the 126506 and caliber 4131. The Everose 116515LN had already introduced a ceramic-bezel Daytona; the 116506 applied the ceramic and platinum combination to the anniversary model. | ||
The blue-and-brown color scheme was the focus of contemporary launch coverage. It is a catalogue description, not a claim that every 116506 dial or bezel detail remained unchanged throughout the run. | The blue-and-brown color scheme was the focus of contemporary launch coverage. It is a catalogue description, not a claim that every 116506 dial or bezel detail remained unchanged throughout the run. | ||
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Caliber 4130 is the same in-house chronograph movement Rolex launched in 2000 on the 116520, carried across every cal-4130-generation Daytona reference for twenty-three years. A column wheel handles start-stop-reset, a vertical clutch engages the chronograph, and the balance runs on a blue Parachrom hairspring at 28,800 vph across 44 jewels with a 72-hour reserve. CaliberCorner records the 290-part construction and ceramic reversing-wheel bearings; Colin A. White's ''The Vintage Rolex Field Manual'' (Morning Tundra) lists the same core caliber specifications. | Caliber 4130 is the same in-house chronograph movement Rolex launched in 2000 on the 116520, carried across every cal-4130-generation Daytona reference for twenty-three years. A column wheel handles start-stop-reset, a vertical clutch engages the chronograph, and the balance runs on a blue Parachrom hairspring at 28,800 vph across 44 jewels with a 72-hour reserve. CaliberCorner records the 290-part construction and ceramic reversing-wheel bearings; Colin A. White's ''The Vintage Rolex Field Manual'' (Morning Tundra) lists the same core caliber specifications. | ||
The solid platinum caseback hides the movement, as on every cal-4130 Daytona; Rolex never produced a sapphire-caseback variant in this generation. | The solid platinum caseback hides the movement, as on every cal-4130 Daytona; Rolex never produced a sapphire-caseback variant in this generation. The 126506 introduced a display caseback with the 4131 generation; the 116506 uses a solid caseback. | ||
Servicing follows the same intervals and procedures as the rest of the cal-4130 line, and nothing in the caliber changed for the platinum case. For the full caliber lineage see [[Reference:Movements#cal-4130]]. | Servicing follows the same intervals and procedures as the rest of the cal-4130 line, and nothing in the caliber changed for the platinum case. For the full caliber lineage see [[Reference:Movements#cal-4130]]. | ||
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==Case, bezel, crystal, and crown== | ==Case, bezel, crystal, and crown== | ||
The case is 950 platinum at 40mm, around 12.5mm thick, brushed across the top surfaces and polished on the flanks. | The case is 950 platinum at 40mm, around 12.5mm thick, brushed across the top surfaces and polished on the flanks. SJX’s launch piece records the platinum case as heavier than the steel and gold cases of the 116520 and 116528 generation. Bexsonn’s coverage notes the same brushed-and-polished treatment used across the Daytona case family. Lug geometry and case dimensions match the 40mm Daytona case Rolex had been refining since 2000. | ||
The Cerachrom bezel is the principal visible material change. Rolex fires the chestnut ring as a monobloc, tachymeter graduations included, then deposits the numerals and graduations as a thin layer of platinum through PVD. The ceramic color is produced during manufacture; Rolex describes Cerachrom as resistant to UV-related fading and corrosion. Condition still has to be checked on the individual bezel. The tachymeter scale runs around the upper case, framed by polished platinum casework at the bezel edge. Logan Baker's Phillips editorial places the 116506 third in the Cerachrom rollout, behind the GMT-Master II and the precious-metal Daytona references that took the material before it. | The Cerachrom bezel is the principal visible material change. Rolex fires the chestnut ring as a monobloc, tachymeter graduations included, then deposits the numerals and graduations as a thin layer of platinum through PVD. The ceramic color is produced during manufacture; Rolex describes Cerachrom as resistant to UV-related fading and corrosion. Condition still has to be checked on the individual bezel. The tachymeter scale runs around the upper case, framed by polished platinum casework at the bezel edge. Logan Baker's Phillips editorial places the 116506 third in the Cerachrom rollout, behind the GMT-Master II and the precious-metal Daytona references that took the material before it. | ||
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==Bracelets, end links, and clasps== | ==Bracelets, end links, and clasps== | ||
The bracelet is a 950 platinum Oyster, three-link, with brushed centre links and polished outer links, fitted with solid end links integral to the case. Rolex | The bracelet is a 950 platinum Oyster, three-link, with brushed centre links and polished outer links, fitted with solid end links integral to the case. Rolex catalogues the 116506 on a matching platinum Oyster bracelet. A strap or bracelet on an individual watch still needs to be checked against its papers and service history. The Sotheby's 2020 Important Watches lot of a 2013-production 116506 (case 288CN710) records the platinum Oyster as the original delivery configuration, and the cited Sotheby's lots show the same bracelet pairing. | ||
The clasp is the modern Oysterlock with the Easylink 5mm comfort extension — the same lever-and-keeper micro-adjustment system Rolex rolled across the cal-4130 Daytona line in the early 2000s, executed here in 950 platinum. The Glidelock toolless extension that arrived on the ceramic Submariner generation in 2010 never crossed onto the Daytona, so Easylink is the only on-bracelet adjustment the 116506 ever offered. The 126506 reworked the Oysterlock mechanism, which leaves the 116506 as the last platinum Daytona carrying the older clasp design. End-link references and clasp date codes follow the modern Daytona conventions catalogued at [[Reference:Bracelets]]. | The clasp is the modern Oysterlock with the Easylink 5mm comfort extension — the same lever-and-keeper micro-adjustment system Rolex rolled across the cal-4130 Daytona line in the early 2000s, executed here in 950 platinum. The Glidelock toolless extension that arrived on the ceramic Submariner generation in 2010 never crossed onto the Daytona, so Easylink is the only on-bracelet adjustment the 116506 ever offered. The 126506 reworked the Oysterlock mechanism, which leaves the 116506 as the last platinum Daytona carrying the older clasp design. End-link references and clasp date codes follow the modern Daytona conventions catalogued at [[Reference:Bracelets]]. | ||
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The 116576TBR is the platinum Daytona's diamond-bezel sibling — pavé dial, baguette-diamond bezel in place of the Cerachrom — on its own reference number, not a 116506 sub-variant. | The 116576TBR is the platinum Daytona's diamond-bezel sibling — pavé dial, baguette-diamond bezel in place of the Cerachrom — on its own reference number, not a 116506 sub-variant. | ||
Double-signed and retailer-engraved 116506 examples have surfaced occasionally, but the reference's high retail and the 950 platinum mass kept the special-order branch narrow. | Double-signed and retailer-engraved 116506 examples have surfaced occasionally, but the reference's high retail and the 950 platinum mass kept the special-order branch narrow. Rolex has not published production volumes for the sub-references, and the public record does not provide a complete census. | ||
==Auction record== | ==Auction record== | ||
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| Sotheby's Important Watches || 2020 || case 288CN710, c.2013 production, standard 116506-0001 with full-set documentation || Anchors the early-production ice-blue / chestnut configuration in the auction record. | | Sotheby's Important Watches || 2020 || case 288CN710, c.2013 production, standard 116506-0001 with full-set documentation || Anchors the early-production ice-blue / chestnut configuration in the auction record. | ||
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| Sotheby's Important Watches || 2021 || brand-new 116506 with full-set documentation; estimate USD 100,000-150,000 || | | Sotheby's Important Watches || 2021 || brand-new 116506 with full-set documentation; estimate USD 100,000-150,000 || The published result is included as a contemporary full-set sale record. | ||
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| Sotheby's Important Watches I || 2022 || c.2019 116506 with baguette-diamond markers (sub-reference 0008) || Anchors the diamond-set ice-blue variant in the auction record. | | Sotheby's Important Watches I || 2022 || c.2019 116506 with baguette-diamond markers (sub-reference 0008) || Anchors the diamond-set ice-blue variant in the auction record. | ||