WORLD FIRST! Rolex Daytona 126579RBR - The Christmas Special!
Rolex Daytona Black MOP and Diamond 126579RBR
What better for our Christmas review than this absolute belter of a bauble!
This is the new for 2024 Daytona 126759RBR, and I can hand on heart tell you that while the crowds were going wild for the monochromatic GMT-Master II, it was this exact model that revving my engine back in April.
Stats first, it’s a full 18 carat white gold piece, so nice and weighty while retaining the same slim and balanced proportions as any other, well almost.
As this is a 12 reference, it has been treated to the same case re-design as other post-2023 Daytona’s.
Broader straighter lugs, chunkier crown guards, a slimmer profile at 11.9mm while sporting a tuned up dial and handset.
Most importantly, the case design has shed some of the soft curves and increased the symmetry of the watch, an evolution that has been very well received indeed, as it has made the Daytona look larger without pumping it full of steroids and increasing the case size.
Perfecto.
I know that we aren’t all into gem-set watches, I know that we aren’t all into shimmering dials and diamond markers, but its Christmas, so let this little star twinkle.
The bezel is set with 36 brilliant-cut ultra high clarity diamonds.
They are set using the “Claw” technique which is when the corner of a gemstone is held in place by thin and deliberately unobtrusive “claws” of metal and ensures that the factets of the stone are still free to catch and play with the light.
This particular cut and setting technique is designed for maximum light, maximum fire, and maximum impact.
This works in absolute tandem with the black Mother Of Pearl dial, not only because a dark dial makes a great backdrop for diamond light, but because the diamonds also serve to conjure up up a light-show from the dial itself, which flashes with green and red fire from the nacre.
Mother of pearl is the iridescent lining of a mollusk shell. Its found inside oysters and abalone and has been used to make jewellery as far back as ancient Egypt and the Ming dynasty. It is a hugely popular material because of the way that it shifts and shimmers in changing light to reveal different tones and colours.
MOP is made from a substance called “nacre” which is the same material as an actual pearl, but rather than being an individual ball, the nacre used to make mother of pearl is found lining the shell.
It is named Mother Of Pearl as the popular belief is that the nacre lined shells produce the finest pearls.
As this is a black dial, it’s colour is most in line with those found in Tahitian pearls which are also black, but with shades of peacock, petroleum blue, red, green, and aubergine flashing through them.
This particular dial gives a show which, thanks to the solar storms this year, can be best described as similar to the northern lights.
Check out in particular the swathes of red and green that you can pick out towards the left-hand side as it moves.
Honestly, there is nothing quite like nature for producing beautiful and wild dials.
It is unparalleled colour-wise.
The rest of the dial is pleasingly symmetrical with 8 brilliant cut diamond indexes set in to square white gold surrounds, A white gold Rolex crown at 12, and lumed indices at 3, 6, and 9.
These have been placed to give both low-light orientation to the watch, and to maintain some harmony as gem setting the quarter hour points would create either cramping or subdial intrusion - neither of which are pleasant or correct.
The subdials, including their rings, are all-white, as anything else would be overkill and the party has been topped off with “Daytona” in blaze red arcing over the small seconds subdial at 6.
Theres also a tiny printed coronet on the outer track just below 6, which denotes that this Daytona is running a new movement - calibre 4131, which is a 47 jewel update to the previous and genius cal 4130.
It has 72 hours of power reserve and all the bells and whistles (Vertical clutch, Parachrom hairspring, Chronergy escapement) but with a reduced number of components which is designed to increase reliability.
Less components - less chance of failure.
The new calibre has also seen some aesthetic improvements in the form of Rolex Côtes de Genève decoration - but at the moment these are hidden behind a solid caseback on all models bar the flagship platinum so all you really need to know is that the new movement has all the tech that Rolex can throw at it, and is a pretty one to boot.
Add together the precious metal, diamonds, pearl, new movement, and redesigned case, and this is genuinely my favourite current Daytona, its a special piece and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.