The long-awaited moment of Watches And Wonders 2023 has finally arrived.
Rolex, to the great delight of the brand’s fans, presented at Watches and Wonders the new Daytona that encapsulates the racing spirit that has accompanied the collection for 60 years.
So let’s buckle up and as the traffic lights go out, let’s go full speed to discover the features of one of the greatest icons of the hand world.
A redesigned case
The first change, albeit a very limited one, is the revised case design. At first glance, in fact, it looks the same as the previous collection in that it stays true to the 40 mm diameter and the design that has always distinguished the watch.
New 4131 caliber
All new models feature the adoption of the new manufacture caliber 4131, an evolution of the previous 4130. This new chronograph movement contains within it some of the crowned company’s recent innovations including the Chronergy escapement to reduce energy loss, the Paraflex shock device placed to protect the movement, and an optimized ball bearing to improve automatic winding.
A further innovation is the pierced oscillating weight and Côtes de Genève Rolex decoration on the bridges.
One detail to distinguish the new Daytona from its predecessors is the small crown on the dial at 6 o’clock indicating the adoption of the new caliber.
The new Daytonas
As we might have guessed, similar to the 50th anniversary of the Daytona, Rolex also introduced a new version of its most prized chronograph in the collection, namely the platinum version.
This is an update of the previous model that features the same dial as the “classic” version, that is, ice blue with brown contrast of the outline of the chronograph counters and tachymeter bezel.
All models appear similar in color scheme to their predecessors, and any updates made, design-wise, may be unnoticeable at first glance.
However, a detail that allows the new platinum model to be distinguished from its predecessor is the adoption, for the first time in the history of the maison, of a sapphire crystal case back that allows the movement to be observed. On the other models, however, the case back remains traditionally closed.
The dials of all models also received a small update in terms of graphics, taking inspiration from the dials of the old 5-digit Daytona, more commonly known as “Zenith.” Looking at the hour markers, these appear thinner than those of previous models; same for the contour of the counters, which is less thick.
Unlike the previous bezel, that of the new Daytona is bordered by a thin band of the same metal as the case middle.
What we think about it
Certainly, of all the hypotheses that had made their way around the net in recent weeks, none were true.
To be honest for an event as important as a 60th anniversary, we would have expected something different. We must admit, however, that Rolex has always accustomed us to innovating without upsetting, and the adoption of a new caliber combined with the use of a sapphire crystal case back for the first time are a major change from what we were used to.
I find the idea of the opening caseback on the movement of the platinum model really well done, although I would have loved it, though, perhaps as an option, on the remaining models in the collection as well.
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