Hands-On The New Rolex Daytona Reference 116500LN (Live Pics, Thoughts, Details On Release)

Now that Baselworld is three weeks behind us, we can take a minute to answer the questions you all have about the most talked about watch of 2016.

BENJAMIN CLYMER

Now that Baselworld is three weeks behind us, we can take a minute to answer the questions you all have about this – the most talked about watch of 2016, and the one that you've been told already has a very, very long waiting list – you know, the brand new Rolex Daytona. We announced the watch's release on Wednesday, March 16th, and three weeks and 80+ comments later, it is still pulling in a ton of traffic. This watch is hot, and in this post we will cover the specs, the details, and give you our own thoughts on it after spending a brief moment with it in the Rolex booth. What's more, we'll give you an idea of when the first batch will hit stores, how many an authorized dealer might hope to get it in calendar year 2016, and how many people are currently on the wait list.

The Basics

Reference 116500LN is the second reference of in-house, self-winding steel Daytonas from Rolex.

Here are the very basics that you need to know. The new reference of the stainless-steel Daytona is 116500LN, and it replaces 116520, which we reviewed in detail here. The 116520 was launched in the year 2000, and featured Rolex's first in-house chronograph reference – caliber 4130. The 116520 itself replaced reference 16520, which was Rolex's first self-winding Daytona – its caliber 4030 was based on a modified Zenith El Primero movement, though as we have told you, it was modified so extensively, many of Zenith's most famous traits were no longer visible – such as the date and 36,000 vph beat rate. The self-winding Daytona was launched in 1988 and replaced the Valjoux-powered 6263/6265.

Only 50 percent of Zeniths' 400 Series El Primero remained after Rolex was done modifying it.

At Baselworld 2000, we saw the reference 116520 and in-house caliber 4130 – this is the Daytona that the 2016 Daytona replaces, though as we'll see today, 116500LN is much more of an evolution than a revolution in both design and technology. The watch remained 40 mm, made in Rolex's proprietary 904L steel, and the 116520 proved to be a robust and always cool best friend to countless men and women around the world.

Reference 116520 housing the in-house caliber 4130 was launched at Baselworld 2000 and became a sensation.

In the year 2013, 50 years after the introduction of the very first Cosmograph (detailed here), the entire world expected to see the steel Daytona get a vintage makeover. We all wanted it, but Rolex wasn't quite ready to give it to us yet – and instead gave us the platinum Daytona with brown ceramic bezel. I'll be honest, I was pretty ornery that day at Basel (ask Stephen P. if you run into him, he'll tell you). I remember speaking to Jack about at a dinner that Basel – he was a frenemy then, as EiC of Revolution, and he put it clearly: Is a $75,000 watch with brown bezel and blue dial the Daytona we all wanted then, or worse, was it what we all deserved in celebrating 50 years of Cosmograph? I can say that 2013 was the year that many of us reached peak Rolex annoyance – as if the kid down the street, the one you told people was your best friend, and who happened to be the smartest, coolest, and most popular kid in the 8th grade, had forgotten to invite you to his birthday party. You're angry, dejected, but on Monday, when you see him in the cafeteria and he invites you to sit at the cool kids' table, you quickly forgive and forget, because it's him.

Consider this new Daytona an invitation to the cool kids' table – an olive branch from the most powerful watch company in the world to every detail-oriented vintage and modern watch collector. This is the watch that makes you forgive Rolex for what it has done to you in the past because it is exactly what you wanted.

What is the new Daytona? Well, it's pretty much the old Daytona, but with a black bezel. And it's also the hottest watch in the world.

What's so amazing about this new Daytona is that there is nothing here, really, for us to nerd about. It is every bit the same as the 116520 down to the 40 mm 904L case, the polished center links, the Superluminova accents, and the caliber 4130 movement. The watch is really identical to its predecessor – save for the Cerachrom bezel and slight dial tweaks – and yet here we are, so, so happy it's here.

The Oyster bracelet features center polished links.

Notice the black bezel against steel case.

So much of this comes down to the simple power of Rolex and the truly prodigious management of its brand – a brand that, according to the Reputation Institute, is in fact the most reputable in the world. It is this expert-level management that makes the slightest change in a product – such as, say, a new bezel – seem monumentally important. Why? Because Rolex produces icons, and the Daytona is arguably the icon in a family of nothing but icons.

Each Daytona clasp features an "Easylink" rapid extension system, allowing the bracelet to expand 5 mm quickly.

How Is It On The Wrist? Awesome.

The black dial Daytona on HODINKEE European Editor Arthur Touchot's wrist.

The one thing the Daytona has always had going for it, since day one back in 1963 to today, is superior wrist presence. I would venture to say, in fact, that the Daytona is one of the best wearing watches ever made – and that includes vintage and contemporary references (many among the vintage watch world credit the Daytona's desirability to its wrist presence – with the 6263/6265 holding the spot as the most perfectly proportioned example, ever). The 40 mm version, which has now been around for 28 years is also just wonderfully sized, and the new reference with black Cerachrom bezel adds a little bit of style and panache to a otherwise flawlessly designed case.

Here is the new Daytona of our Head of Business Development Frank Roda.

Here is the new Daytona on the wrist of Cara Barrett.

Forty millimeters is such a great size, and because this isn't a dive watch like Rolex's other icons, it remains thinner and slightly more elegant on the wrist than a Submariner. What's more, the Subs and GMTs have all gone through a sort of up-sizing where the the case dimensions haven't changed on paper, but the cases feel more block-like, and the lugs much more beefy. I think we all expected that when a new Daytona would hit, but we didn't get it. I, for one, am thrilled about that, though my friend Robert-Jan from Fratello expected and wanted the Daytona to get upsized a little bit.

The new Daytona in black on the author's wrist.

The new Daytona in white on the author's wrist.

As you can see in the five pictures above, the watch looks equally great on four different peoples' wrists – and that includes Arthur, who is 6 foot 3, and Cara who is, well, not 6 foot 3. She's a woman. A young woman in fact, and both on social media and in her best of Basel story, the response from readers to her with the black-dial Daytona was unanimously positive (come on, what watch guy doesn't dream of their significant other wearing a Daytona?). The new clasp is a nice addition, but no matter what, it is the proven case size and dimensions plus new bezel that will make this new Daytona an even stronger seller than the last.

A Few More Details

The dial gives off an almost lacquered-like look, but it is not lacquered.

In shooting the new Daytona in less than ideal lighting, you see everything. In fact you see much more in that horrible yellow light of a trade show booth than you would anywhere else. In these pictures you can see every strange glare, every finger print, every scratch, but the most interesting thing to note is the almost glossiness on the dial. They appear as if they're almost enameled, or lacquered – they're not, but in these pictures, they look like they would be.

The dial design is the one thing I could see someone griping about on the new Daytona. There are five lines of text at 12 o'clock. Five. Do we need all that, in particular the final line that reads "Cosmograph"? Certainly not, but I find it charming that Rolex, after 53 years of producing this watch, still calls it a Cosmograph, even though I am quite sure nobody outside a few dweebs like me know what that means. This is a Daytona to most people, and they simply could leave it at that, but they don't, which I like a lot. That said, text heavy at 12? Certainly. Oh, and of course we have "Daytona" in red at 6 o'clock, which I know people will love, though I do not.

The new Cerachrom black bezel with platinum PVD treatment is beautiful and rich looking, polished and refined. Just as collectors prefer the 6263 with black aluminum bezel to the 6265 with polished steel bezel, I suspect too that over time these black bezel watches will outsell their steel bezel predecessors.

As for the build quality of the watch, and the wonderful caliber 4130, read this story about "The Rolex Way," in particular the final section about the chronograph movement. It will tell you everything you need to know.

Okay, So Just How Hard Will It Be To Get?

So this is the million dollar question, right? The Daytona is the hottest watch in the world right now, with timeless design, great quality, cool factor for men and women, and a price tag that doesn't shock when you consider just what it is you're getting (U.S. retail is $12,400). I have been asked by more friends, friends of friends, readers, readers of readers, and bar-stool associates for help in getting this new Daytona than any other watch since I've started to be a part of this world. I tell them to do what anyone else would do – call your local authorized dealer and put your name on a list. It's just that simple – there is no game here to win for people who deem themselves serious buyers, or preferential treatment for people with lots of Instagram followers – Rolex doesn't do that. If you want one, you wait.

A comment left by a HODINKEE reader about his chances.

How long will you have to wait? Well, if you saw our breaking news story on the HODINKEE App back on March 16th and called your AD right away, you're in a good spot. I've run into a few people who did that and they'll be fine. But if you haven't called your dealer yet, you might be waiting. I knew people would want to know what that meant in hard numbers, so I asked a few friendly authorized dealers. A smaller account based in Connecticut said they would likely receive eight watches, four in each dial color, and they currently have 20 people on the list. So the other 12 will probably not receive theirs until sometime into 2017. Another authorized dealer in the Bay Area told me they were likely to receive 10 pieces this year, and the list is probably 50 people long. Then, there is the comment left by a reader that we've republished above – where he claims his dealer will get two pieces and the list is 92 people long.

I think the answer is simple here – if you haven't gotten your name in for one of the new Daytonas, you will likely be waiting a long time. And by that, I mean into 2017. The first batch of watches should hit the U.S. at the end of the summer, with continued delivery through the fall and winter. So when that California-based dealer says he'll be getting 10, he means 10 at some point throughout the remainder of 2016, not all at once when they drop this summer. The story goes that last time around, the waitlist on a new steel Daytona would run into the years – and based on these numbers, I would say that is a possibility again here. Stinks, I know, because the watch is so great, and priced so well, but Rolex knows what they're doing, and the last thing they want to do is flood the market.

Just Because – The Earliest And The Latest Daytona, Next To Each Other

The 2016 reference 116500LN next to the 1963 reference 6239.

Finally, in one of those "just because we can" moments, I'd like to show you something that I didn't know would happen this year at Baselworld (I thought it would've happened in 2013), but I'm very glad it did. This is a picture of the very first Rolex Daytona (née Cosmograph) from 1963 – my own watch – next to the very latest steel Cosmograph, reference 116500LN. It's amazing to see how far it's come, and quite cool to see them next to each other, I think.

I hope you've enjoyed this little look at the new Daytona, and you can read more about it right here.