Monday, October 21, 2019

Rolex Daytona 2019: Eye of the Tiger



Hands-on with the 'Eye of the Tiger'




 By DANNY CRIVELLO

           
This week marks the two-year anniversary of the most famous vintage watch auction, the Paul Newman Daytona, which reached a record $17 million. I thought, why not mark the event with Rolex's most recent Daytona release, the Baselworld 2019 reference 116588, an absolute stunner that I was able to hold on its first day.


The Rolex Daytona is the world’s most recognizable sports watch. A year after the surprise release of the Rainbow Daytona, Rolex surprises us again with this model, showcasing Rolex's skills, talent and knowledge as a jeweler. 



For the new piece, Rolex replaced the tachymeter scale on the bezel with 36 trapeze-cut diamonds, and decorated the dial with swirls of black lacquer surrounded by 243 diamonds set in a snake-like pattern. There are eight diamond markers set in yellow gold. Look closer and you can see the 15, 30 and 45 markers in gold Arabic numerals. 


The watch was quickly nicknamed the 'Eye of the Tiger' by our friends at Revolution Watch, and it caught on. 

Each stone is invisibly set, meaning they appear to be securing one another—and that, in fact, is more or less the case.


After the Rolex representative handed me the Daytona and gave me a run down of the watch's specs, she simply concluded with the dial: "And the dial... the dial speaks for itself."


Indeed! I held the watch, and its design immediately played tricks on my brain. Here was the most recognizable sports watch in the world—in the most luxurious setting. Rolex decided to put the watch on a black Oysterflex adding to its sportiness. Then the 243 diamonds sparkle; the gold shines amazingly under the Rolex pressroom lights. And your brain is convinced no one does the combination, nay, the perfect balance, of sports and luxury better than Rolex.