Reference:116523: Difference between revisions

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The 116523 case is steel — the same forging as the 116520 — with an 18k yellow gold engraved tachymetre bezel screwed to it and a gold-plated Triplock crown. The bezel is the visible Rolesor mark on this reference: the steel 116520 carries a steel tachymetre bezel; the 116523 carries the same bezel topography in solid 18k yellow gold. No aluminium insert, no ceramic. Cerachrom did not arrive on the Daytona until the 2016 116500LN line, so every 116523 wears the engraved gold bezel through its full run.

Case dimensions ~~are 40mm marketed, with the same caveat as~~ the 116520~~: Fratello's Ben Hodges measured a steel 116520 case at 38~~.~~5mm with calipers and published~~ the ~~figure in 2021~~, ~~attributing the discrepancy to Rolex case-machining tolerances. The 116523 shares~~ that ~~steel forging and inherits~~ the same ~~nameplate~~-~~versus~~-~~measured gap. Lug-to-lug is documented at 46mm~~ in the Wind Vintage 2011 GT Champion 116523 listing. The crystal is flat sapphire with no Cyclops; the running-seconds sub-dial sits at six o'clock. The Triplock crown handles 100m water resistance. Screw-~~down pushers sit on either side of the crown and must be unscrewed before the chronograph can be started, the same trade-off the rest of the 116520-generation carries for the case's water rating~~.

Case dimensions follow the 116520 closely. The practical point is not the catalog number versus caliper measurement, but that this is the same in-house-era Daytona case in a two-tone finish.

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== Historical market and auction record ==

Sotheby's has catalogued the 116523 ~~with auction-grade text on at least three lots~~ across the ~~production~~ run. The 2019 Sotheby's Daytona Capsule Collection — a curated thirteen-watch retrospective in New York — included a circa-2001 white-dial 116523 with yellow gold luminous-marker surrounds and champagne sub-registers, estimated USD 12,000–18,000. The April 2020 Sotheby's Watches Weekly Rolex / AP sale in Hong Kong catalogued a circa-2011 116523, case V282357, with an anthracite sunburst dial, estimated HKD 90,000–130,000. Together the ~~two lots bracket the production run~~ from launch to ~~near-end with auction-house catalogue text~~. The ~~2011~~ GT Champion ~~116523 sits as~~ the ~~documented prize-watch~~ example~~, sold NOS by Wind Vintage with full box, papers, and engraved caseback~~.

Sotheby's has catalogued the 116523 across the run, which is enough to anchor the watch from launch to late production. The GT Champion watch remains the branch example that gives the reference more than just catalog depth.

The Rolesor 116523 trades at a meaningful discount to its yellow gold sibling. Revolution's 2017 coverage of the Eric Clapton 116528 sale at Bishop & Miller and Bonhams documented the yellow gold reference at a GBP 15,000 secondhand market floor at that time; the Rolesor 116523, with steel rather than solid-gold mass, has historically traded below that figure on the secondary market. Lot results vary year to year and are best read in current auction catalogues rather than fixed in a static article.

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 The 116523 case is steel — the same forging as the 116520 — with an 18k yellow gold engraved tachymetre bezel screwed to it and a gold-plated Triplock crown. The bezel is the visible Rolesor mark on this reference: the steel 116520 carries a steel tachymetre bezel; the 116523 carries the same bezel topography in solid 18k yellow gold. No aluminium insert, no ceramic. Cerachrom did not arrive on the Daytona until the 2016 116500LN line, so every 116523 wears the engraved gold bezel through its full run.
-Case dimensions are 40mm marketed, with the same caveat as the 116520: Fratello's Ben Hodges measured a steel 116520 case at 38.5mm with calipers and published the figure in 2021, attributing the discrepancy to Rolex case-machining tolerances. The 116523 shares that steel forging and inherits the same nameplate-versus-measured gap. Lug-to-lug is documented at 46mm in the Wind Vintage 2011 GT Champion 116523 listing. The crystal is flat sapphire with no Cyclops; the running-seconds sub-dial sits at six o'clock. The Triplock crown handles 100m water resistance. Screw-down pushers sit on either side of the crown and must be unscrewed before the chronograph can be started, the same trade-off the rest of the 116520-generation carries for the case's water rating.
+Case dimensions follow the 116520 closely. The practical point is not the catalog number versus caliper measurement, but that this is the same in-house-era Daytona case in a two-tone finish.
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 == Historical market and auction record ==
-Sotheby's has catalogued the 116523 with auction-grade text on at least three lots across the production run. The 2019 Sotheby's Daytona Capsule Collection — a curated thirteen-watch retrospective in New York — included a circa-2001 white-dial 116523 with yellow gold luminous-marker surrounds and champagne sub-registers, estimated USD 12,000–18,000. The April 2020 Sotheby's Watches Weekly Rolex / AP sale in Hong Kong catalogued a circa-2011 116523, case V282357, with an anthracite sunburst dial, estimated HKD 90,000–130,000. Together the two lots bracket the production run from launch to near-end with auction-house catalogue text. The 2011 GT Champion 116523 sits as the documented prize-watch example, sold NOS by Wind Vintage with full box, papers, and engraved caseback.
+Sotheby's has catalogued the 116523 across the run, which is enough to anchor the watch from launch to late production. The GT Champion watch remains the branch example that gives the reference more than just catalog depth.
 The Rolesor 116523 trades at a meaningful discount to its yellow gold sibling. Revolution's 2017 coverage of the Eric Clapton 116528 sale at Bishop &amp; Miller and Bonhams documented the yellow gold reference at a GBP 15,000 secondhand market floor at that time; the Rolesor 116523, with steel rather than solid-gold mass, has historically traded below that figure on the secondary market. Lot results vary year to year and are best read in current auction catalogues rather than fixed in a static article.