Rolex Cosmograph Daytona 16568

Daytona → 16568

Rolex ref. 16568 is a yellow-gold automatic Daytona with a gem-set bezel and Oyster bracelet. Auction catalogues document pavé, champagne, mother-of-pearl, and black-and-champagne dial treatments.

Core facts

Field	Documented information
Family	Cosmograph Daytona
Date evidence	Examples dated 1994, circa 1995–1996, and one conflicting 1995 / 1997 catalogue attribution
Movement	Automatic Rolex Cal. 4030; Phillips, Christie's and Antiquorum record 31 jewels
Case material	18k yellow gold in the reviewed exact-reference records
Case diameter	39 mm in Phillips and Christie's records; 40 mm in Phillips 2021 and Antiquorum
Dial examples	Pavé diamond with emerald markers; diamond-set champagne with emerald markers and matching counters; mother-of-pearl with diamond numerals; black and champagne with round diamond indexes
Bracelet	Yellow-gold Oyster, ref. 78398 in several catalogued watches

Where it sits in the line

The 16568 belongs to the automatic Daytona generation that began in 1988 with Cal. 4030 and ended as Rolex introduced Cal. 4130 in 2000. Rolex's press history describes the 1988 movement and case change. Specialist references place the 16568 in the yellow-gold bracelet branch of the gem-set Daytonas; the 16518 and 16519 used leather straps. (Rolex press kit; Revolution)

Production outline

Phillips dates cases W176611 and W176600 to 1994. Phillips, Christie's and Antiquorum auction records date other examples from circa 1995 through 1996. Monaco Legend dates case T825487 to 1995 online and 1997 in its lot report. These dates belong to individual watches; they do not define the reference's production start or end.

Movement notes

Phillips (2017, 2021 and 2024), Christie's Geneva 2014 and Antiquorum identify Cal. 4030; Phillips and Antiquorum give 31 jewels. Christie's Hong Kong 2005 entry describes a 31-jewel nickel-finished lever movement but does not name its caliber. Rolex dates Cal. 4030 to the 1988 self-winding Daytona and says it replaced more than half the components of its commercially available base movement.

Dial map

The catalogued watches show several different gem-set treatments. They establish configurations on individual cases, not a complete factory dial sequence.

Case / record	Dial and bezel as catalogued
W176611, Phillips 2017	Pavé diamond dial, emerald hour markers, baguette-diamond bezel
W176600, Phillips 2024	Diamond-set champagne dial with matching counters and emerald hour markers
W123747, Phillips 2021	Pavé dial with emerald numerals and baguette-diamond bezel
W516656, Christie's Hong Kong, 2005	Mother-of-pearl dial with diamond numerals and baguette-diamond bezel
Lot 80, Antiquorum 2009	Black-and-champagne dial with eight round diamond indexes; 24 baguette diamonds on the bezel
T251714, Christie's 2014	Pavé diamond dial, square emerald markers and baguette-diamond bezel

Pavé dial with emerald numerals, case W123747. Photograph: Phillips.
Diamond-set champagne dial with matching counters and emerald markers, case W176600. Photograph: Phillips.

Case, bezel, crystal, and crown notes

Christie's 2005 and 2014 descriptions and Antiquorum's 2009 catalogue describe a yellow-gold Oyster case with a baguette-set bezel, sapphire crystal, screw-down crown and chronograph pushers. Antiquorum counts 24 baguette diamonds on its 1996 example. Phillips describes gold bars separating the bezel stones on case W176611. Its catalogue identifies case W176600 as ref. 16568 while reporting an inside-caseback stamp of 16500; the catalogue records the marking but does not explain it. Measurements vary: Phillips and Christie's give 39 mm for several watches, while Phillips's 2021 record and Antiquorum give 40 mm. The catalogues do not explain their measuring points, so the difference is left as reported.

Side view of the yellow-gold Rolex Daytona 16568 showing the crown, screw-down pushers, case and gem-set bezel — Case profile of ref. 16568, case W123747. Photograph: Phillips.

Bracelets, end links, clasps, and packaging

Phillips lists bracelet 78398 on cases W176611, W123747 and W176600; Antiquorum records the same bracelet on its 1996 example. For W123747, Phillips gives end links stamped 103 and a clasp stamped 78398 and T8. Rolex's 2011 U.S. parts list names bracelet 78398 for models 16528 and 16568, marked replacement-only. These records establish fitment, not original delivery.

Phillips's 2017 lot included a box, cotton cloth, pouch, booklet and guarantee. Christie's 2014 lot included a service invoice and guarantee; Antiquorum's 2009 lot included a box, void warranty and booklets. These are documented lot contents, not reference-specific packaging requirements.

Yellow-gold Oyster bracelet fitted to Rolex Daytona 16568 case W123747 — Yellow-gold Oyster bracelet on case W123747. Photograph: Phillips.

Special branches

Ross Povey in Revolution uses “16568 EMRO” for the emerald-bezel version. Phillips catalogues emerald-set dials under ref. 16568, and Christie's calls one diamond-bezel example “16568BR.” A Rolex Forums compiler says he could not confirm these suffixes as separate formal references. The auction records show the settings; the reviewed factory material does not define a complete code list.

Auction record

Sale	Case / configuration	Reported result
Antiquorum, New York, 9 Dec 2009, lot 80	1996; black-and-champagne dial, baguette-diamond bezel	USD 31,200
Phillips, Winning Icons, 2017, lot 40	W176611; 1994; pavé dial, emerald markers	USD 200,000
Phillips, Geneva Watch Auction XIV, 2021, lot 108	W123747; circa 1995; pavé dial, emerald numerals	CHF 201,600
Phillips, New York Watch Auction X, 2024, lot 136	W176600; 1994; champagne dial, diamonds and emerald markers	USD 228,600

These results cover four specific watches in different years, currencies and dial configurations. They are not a price series.

Gallery

Case W123747, circa 1995. Photograph: Phillips.
Pavé dial with emerald numerals, case W123747. Photograph: Phillips.
Case flank, crown and pushers, case W123747. Photograph: Phillips.
Yellow-gold Oyster bracelet, case W123747. Photograph: Phillips.

Sources