In the realm of serious watch collecting, today Rolex introduced a pretty serious off-catalog variant of the brand’s most coveted timepiece, the Daytona.
The 2026 Daytona Rolesium Ref. 126502, features a 904L Oystersteel middle case, bracelet, and pushers, with a sapphire caseback and bezel ring crafted in 950 platinum.
Interestingly, the ceramic bezel has been given a gray appearance, that Rolex refers to as having a “metallic effect of an anthracite Cerachrom bezel in tungsten-rich ceramic, edged with a band of platinum.”
What truly differentiates this Daytona from the current generation black and white dial stainless steel models (Ref. 126500LN-0002 and -0001), the current platinum model (Ref. 126506), the discontinued white gold “Le Mans” Daytona Anniversary Edition (Ref. 126529LN), and the current off catalog yellow gold Le Mans Daytona (Ref. 126529LN), is a four-piece Grand Feu enamel dial.
Ben Clymer at Hodinkee got early access to the watch ahead of Watches and Wonders, and deftly pointed out that this new Rolesium Daytona is likely inspired by the vintage Zenith-era Daytona (Ref. 16520), which features a glossy white dial, often referred to as a “Porcelain” dial (despite not being made of actual porcelain).
Flip the watch over, and you’ll see the current chronograph caliber 4131, with Geneva stripes, gold jewel sinks, and a gold skeletonized rotor, because this Daytona is one of the rare Rolex chronographs with a sapphire caseback. The platinum and Le Mans models are the only other Daytonas with open casebacks.
Additionally, “On the tachymetric scale of this new bezel, the numerals are presented horizontally, echoing the design of the first Cosmograph Daytona. These ‘suspended’ numerals are inscribed in a thoroughly contemporary font,” according to Rolex.
Final Thoughts
With the current stainless steel Daytonas hovering at $16,900, Rolex is asking more than triple that price, at a retail of $57,800 this low-volume off-catalog model, is made exclusively for serious (investment grade) Rolex collectors.
Photos by Rolex.
