Reference:116506: Difference between revisions
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Deep correctness, source, image and anti-slop audit: qualified production, dial, meteorite, movement, bezel, bracelet and auction claims, cleaned related links, and added gallery. |
Deep audit: qualify platinum history, ground auction claims, humanize prose, and repair gallery |
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The 116506 is the platinum Cosmograph Daytona introduced at Baselworld 2013 for the model’s 50th anniversary. 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 116506 is the first regular-production platinum Cosmograph Daytona, 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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| dial sub-references || 116506-0001 (standard ice-blue), 116506-0002 / 0008 (baguette-diamond hour markers), 116506-0004 (Arabic-Indic numerals, Middle East) | | dial sub-references || 116506-0001 (standard ice-blue), 116506-0002 / 0008 (baguette-diamond hour markers), 116506-0004 (Arabic-Indic numerals, Middle East) | ||
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| caseback || solid 950 platinum (sapphire caseback first appears on the 126506 successor) | | caseback || solid 950 platinum (sapphire caseback first appears on the 126506 successor) | ||
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==Where it sits in the line== | ==Where it sits in the line== | ||
The 116506 belongs to the later 4130 Daytona generation alongside the steel 116520, yellow-gold 116528 and white-gold 116519. It was the first Daytona reference in a solid-platinum case. The 126506 replaced it in the 2023 generation with caliber 4131 and a display caseback. | The 116506 belongs to the later 4130 Daytona generation alongside the steel 116520, yellow-gold 116528 and white-gold 116519. It was the first regular-production Daytona reference in a solid-platinum case; earlier special-order and gem-set examples should be treated separately. The 126506 replaced it in the 2023 generation with caliber 4131 and a display caseback. | ||
The chestnut Cerachrom and ice-blue dial combination is the configuration documented for this reference. Other 4130 Daytonas used different bezel and dial treatments, so comparisons should be tied to the specific reference and catalogue year. | The chestnut Cerachrom and ice-blue dial combination is the configuration documented for this reference. Other 4130 Daytonas used different bezel and dial treatments, so comparisons should be tied to the specific reference and catalogue year. | ||
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==Movement notes== | ==Movement notes== | ||
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) | 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. Set against twenty-three years of closed backs, the 126506's display caseback reads as a generational reset rather than a routine refresh, which is how Fratello's side-by-side comparison treats it. | The solid platinum caseback hides the movement, as on every cal-4130 Daytona; Rolex never produced a sapphire-caseback variant in this generation. Set against twenty-three years of closed backs, the 126506's display caseback reads as a generational reset rather than a routine refresh, which is how Fratello's side-by-side comparison treats it. | ||
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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 how the metal behaves — heavier than the steel and gold cases of the 116520 and 116528 generation, more malleable than steel, softer to surface marking than gold. Bexsonn's coverage from the same week notes that Rolex finished the platinum to the same brushed-and-polished tolerances as the steel 116520, so the case reads in proportion to its siblings instead of as a differentiated profile. Lug geometry and case dimensions match the 40mm Daytona case Rolex had been refining since 2000. | 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 how the metal behaves — heavier than the steel and gold cases of the 116520 and 116528 generation, more malleable than steel, softer to surface marking than gold. Bexsonn's coverage from the same week notes that Rolex finished the platinum to the same brushed-and-polished tolerances as the steel 116520, so the case reads in proportion to its siblings instead of as a differentiated profile. Lug geometry and case dimensions match the 40mm Daytona case Rolex had been refining since 2000. | ||
The Cerachrom bezel is the | 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 crystal is flat sapphire, no Cyclops, in the same proportions used across the cal-4130 Daytona line. The crown is the Triplock screw-down with three-gasket sealing, at the standard Rolex 700-series geometry. The chronograph pushers are screw-down 950 platinum and follow the same operating routine as the rest of the modern Daytona line: unscrew the pusher, operate the chronograph, screw it back down to seal the case. Water resistance is rated to 100m, consistent with every cal-4130 Daytona reference. | The crystal is flat sapphire, no Cyclops, in the same proportions used across the cal-4130 Daytona line. The crown is the Triplock screw-down with three-gasket sealing, at the standard Rolex 700-series geometry. The chronograph pushers are screw-down 950 platinum and follow the same operating routine as the rest of the modern Daytona line: unscrew the pusher, operate the chronograph, screw it back down to seal the case. Water resistance is rated to 100m, consistent with every cal-4130 Daytona reference. | ||
The | The platinum case and bracelet weigh more than the steel, two-tone and gold versions of the same generation. The cited hands-on review records that difference; individual weights still depend on links and condition. | ||
==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 did not produce the 116506 on a strap; every example shipped on the matching platinum Oyster, and that bracelet is what gives the watch its on-wrist mass. 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 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 did not produce the 116506 on a strap; every example shipped on the matching platinum Oyster, and that bracelet is what gives the watch its on-wrist mass. 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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==Special branches== | ==Special branches== | ||
In the cited records, the documented departures from the launch watch are dial variants. The case, bracelet, bezel and caliber are described as unchanged across the 0001, diamond-marker 0002 / 0008 and Middle East 0004 examples; confirm any individual watch against its papers. The Sotheby's 2022 lot of a c.2019 diamond-set example is the public-record anchor for the 0008, and the Sotheby's 2024 Fine Watches lot of a late-production diamond-marker example carries the variant through to the wind-down. | |||
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. | ||
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==Auction record== | ==Auction record== | ||
The 116506 entered the auction record at | The 116506 entered the auction record at a Geneva sale held soon after its 2013 launch. | ||
{| class="wikitable" | {| class="wikitable" | ||
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! sale !! date !! lot detail !! result | ! sale !! date !! lot detail !! result | ||
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| Christie's, "Lesson One", Geneva || 10 November 2013 || lot 50, 'The Nine-Fifty Tribute', full-set; estimate CHF 80,000-120,000 || hammer CHF 197,000 (approx. USD 217,000 at the day's rate). The first 116506 to cross an auction block | | Christie's, "Lesson One", Geneva || 10 November 2013 || lot 50, 'The Nine-Fifty Tribute', full-set; estimate CHF 80,000-120,000 || hammer CHF 197,000 (approx. USD 217,000 at the day's rate). The first 116506 to cross an auction block, according to the cited sale coverage. | ||
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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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See also the [[Reference:daytona|Daytona family index]], [[Reference:Movements|movement reference]], [[Reference:Bracelets|bracelet & clasp guide]], and [[Reference:Serial-numbers|serial numbers by year]]. | See also the [[Reference:daytona|Daytona family index]], [[Reference:Movements|movement reference]], [[Reference:Bracelets|bracelet & clasp guide]], and [[Reference:Serial-numbers|serial numbers by year]]. | ||
<gallery mode="packed" heights="180"> | <gallery mode="packed" heights="180"> | ||
Ref 116506 hero.webp|Platinum 116506 with ice-blue dial and chestnut bezel | File:Ref 116506 hero.webp|Platinum 116506 with ice-blue dial and chestnut bezel | ||
Ref 116506 dial.webp|Standard ice-blue dial | File:Ref 116506 dial.webp|Standard ice-blue dial | ||
Ref 116506 historical-example.webp|Auction example with provenance | File:Ref 116506 historical-example.webp|Auction example with provenance | ||
</gallery> | </gallery> | ||