ROLEX platinum “Zenith” Daytona turquoise lacquer watch sets a new auction record of US$3.14 million!

Sotheby’s has achieved another success in the just-concluded spring “Precious Watches” auction! A Rolex platinum Zenith Daytona watch was sold for HK$24.4 million (about US$3.14 million, about NT$88 million). This Rolex Daytona 16516 is equipped with an El Primero 4030 movement and a turquoise dial, which is very likely to be a unique style. It was initially thought to be a normal Stella lacquered dial, but later it was confirmed to be a real lacquered turquoise mineral dial, so it was sold at a high price. This transaction is the second time that the same model has been sold at a high price after a lapis lazuli dial timepiece set a new world auction record for an automatic Daytona in July 2020, proving that collectors around the world are flocking to ROLEX platinum Daytona with a special dial.

This Daytona was made by ROLEX in 1998. It has a rare turquoise Stella lacquer dial and a PT950 platinum case. It is the third platinum Daytona reference number 16516 on the market, and the year 1998 is engraved on the back of the watch. The first known platinum Daytona was sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong in 2018 for HK$6.84 million. Last year, the lapis lazuli dial set an astonishing auction record of HK$25.38 million. These watches are all equipped with Zenith 4030 movements. According to the auction house, Daytona 16516 once launched a set of five special platinum dials. The four known ones include Tahitian mother-of-pearl, lapis lazuli, coral, and the turquoise dial sold this time. Among the four, except for the coral dial, which has not yet appeared on the market, the other three were sold at high prices at Sotheby’s Hong Kong.