Year: Circa 2023
Reference No: 116588SACO
Case No: C30L8681
Model Name: Cosmograph Daytona
Material: 18K yellow gold
Calibre: Automatic, cal. 4130, 44 jewels
Bracelet/Strap: Rubber
Clasp/Buckle: 18K yellow gold Rolex Oyster deployant clasp
Accessories: Accompanied by Rolex guarantee dated 13th January 2023, purchase invoice, instruction manual, product literature, hang tags, fitted presentation box and outer packaging.

In the 1980s, Rolex began to dress-up their sports watches with precious gemstones for its more adventurous clientele. Among these first early gem-set sports watches are the manually-wound Daytona references 6269 and 6270 (the former with brilliant-cut diamonds at the bezel and the latter with baguette-cut diamonds). Sparking a new trend for gem-set timepieces, Rolex continued to bedazzle their prestigious lines of watches with various combinations of gemstones, cuts, settings and designs over the years. Examples with large baguette-cut bezels, pavé diamond dials, emeralds, rubies or coloured sapphires to name a few combinations have been produced, always in very small quantities and with extreme attention to quality and execution. Adorned with 36 orange sapphires on the bezel, the present example features a suave black dial with sapphire-set indexes in the same pumpkin hue, resulting in a uber cool configuration adored by the likes of Roger Federer. With tremendous efforts to source the world’s highest quality of gems, each stone is cut specifically to be fitted on the bezel, with each gemstone examined thoroughly for its cut, clarity and most importantly, colour. Hence, with its tedious process resulting in an extremely low production of all Rolex gem-set pieces, with the Rainbow being one of the toughest to execute. Today, the Daytona Rainbow family has been released in yellow gold, white gold and pink gold. Marking the 60th anniversary of the Daytona this year in 2023, rare and special Daytona models including the present example are highly demanded in the market. A perfect way to celebrate the important anniversary of one of the most beloved wristwatches of all time, Phillips is delighted to auction the 116588SACO for first time.