Rolex "Four-Line" "Zenith" Daytona Ref. 16520 in Steel

CIRCA: 1988
REF.: 16520
CASE NUMBER: R992987
CASE MATERIAL: Stainless steel
CASE DIMENSIONS: 40 mm diameter
DIAL: White dial with luminous hands and hour marker, black sub dials
BRACELET MATERIAL: Rolex Oyster stainless steel bracelet with fold-over clasp, ref. 78360
BRACELET SIZE: 7-1/2 inches
MOVEMENT: Automatic Zenith
FUNCTIONS: Time and chronograph
CALIBER: 4030

This is an exceedingly rare example of a "Four-Line" Daytona reference 16520 dating to circa 1988 with its original and rare, early bezel graduated to 200 units per hour. It is thought Rolex was testing removing text from the dial with this early run of Daytonas following the discontinuation of the "porcelain" dial automatic Daytona. This watch simply reads "Superlative Chronometer" on the dial with the phrase, "Officially Certified", noticeably absent. It is also thought that Rolex later increased the "UNITS PER HOUR" measurement on the bezel from 200 to 400 units to accommodate the faster drivers of the period.

This rare early automatic Daytona has a modified Zenith El Primero movement used by Rolex until 2000. Daytonas with Zenith movements have become highly prized by collectors, particularly due to the retention of the running seconds subregister at 9 oÕclock from the dial layout of original vintage Daytonas. Furthermore, it has the "inverted 6" dial where the '6' in the hour register above 6 oÕclock looks like a Ô9Õ as the numbers are rotated toward the center post of the register.

This particular example also has the extremely desirable "R" serial designation indicating it was produced in 1988, the first year of production of the automatic Daytona, making it one of the earliest automatic Daytonas produced. This is a rare and exceptional version of the automatic Daytona; a rare find for any serious collector.

Property of a New York Collector