
Penelope Andrews
Head of Department
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Sold for £28,742.40 inc. premium
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The Daytona is one of Rolex's most successful models with both vintage and newer models highly sought after at auction. The model made its debut in 1963 and the 16520 specifically was released in 1988. The 16520 is significant as it was the first Daytona to feature an automatic chronograph movement. Its predecessors all featured the Valjoux 72 manual wind movement whereas this new iteration housed a modified Zenith El Primero automatic movement.
This example, a 'floating Cosmograph,' is a very rare iteration of the 16520, known to have been produced for only around a year during 1988-89 with the serial number "R" and is the first series of the reference. It is pursued by collectors due to the unusual spacing between the third and fourth lines of text on the dial; 'Cosmograph' is set noticeably further from the other lines.