Rolex Daytona 116509 Meteorite Watch

The Rolex Daytona wrist watch is always an exciting sight on the wrists, and this 116509 meteorite version is no exception. With Rolex taking its trio of gold Daytonas and adding a stylish and unique meteorite dial to the collection, we are all left in admiration. Below are the present three configurations of the Daytona, excluding the Rolex Daytona 116509 Meteorite watch:

• The white-gold case, black Cerachrom bezel, Oysterflex bracelet (ref. 116519LN)
• The yellow-gold case, yellow-gold bezel, yellow-gold bracelet (ref. 116508)
• The Everose gold case, Everose gold bezel, Everose gold bracelet (ref. 116505)

When you view them from a technical standpoint, these are the same Daytonas you’ve known for ages. They all retain the same 40mm gold case, and the black ceramic or gold bezel doesn’t change as well. Also, the caliber 4130 movement is constant across all the models, and either the same Oyster bracelet or rubber-and-metal Oysterflex “bracelet” also stays constant. What you have on the Rolex Daytona wrist watch are all beautiful things, and it makes us happy that Rolex isn’t futzing with the brand’s cutting edge. 

Dialed Differently

Having established the peculiarity of the Rolex Daytona wrist watch collection, the meteorite dial comes in as an impressive addition. The meteorite watch gives this Rolex collection a personality all its own. Nevertheless, Rolex is not a stranger to meteorite dials as they remain a familiar presence in the brand’s production for quite some time now. Now, we have the Daytona 116509 meteorite watch featuring a steel case, steel bracelet, and steel bezel.

The Daytona 116509 Meteorite watch was only available with the less-preferred Roman numeral feature. You still have this watch version in the catalog, but only with more common dial varieties. For the first time in Rolex history, we get a Rolex wristwatch featuring a meteorite dial on a ceramic bezel. This watch is a Rolex Daytona wristwatch, and it’s the perfect watch to feature this great spec. 

With the black bezel also, Rolex adds more contrast and framing to the Daytona 116509 Meteorite watch. This flawlessly brings out the crystalline grain of the meteorite to add some luster to this piece. With this addition, the Rolex Daytona wristwatch collection now joins the Day-Date 40 and the GMT-Master II in the world of Meteorite watches.

Knowing this is Rolex we’re talking about, these timepieces technically aren’t limited versions. However, you can bet that there’ll be a years-long waitlist for each of these pieces by the time you finish reading this sentence. Except each watch to cost as follows:

• The White Gold version costs $34,050
• The Yellow Gold version costs $41,000
• The Everose gold version costs $43,700
• As for the Meteorite watch, you can find a different range of prices with various Rolex retailers worldwide like Raymond Lee Jewelers 

An Overview of the Meteorite Watch

We are huge fans of meteorite dials in general, and the Meteorite watch from Rolex looks like the utmost stunners. As it appears, Rolex took some of its most seasoned watches on the planet (The Daytona wristwatch line) and managed to make them even more attractive, collectible, and appealing. 

Overall, there are a ton of poetic reasons to admire the meteorite watch from Rolex. There is the ability to wear something that’s out of the norm. Also, the relationship meteorites have with the lengthy and lustrous history of the universe makes them more desirable. They present a unique and memorable way to relate to time.

We could go on about the Meteorite watch, but on a purely aesthetic basis, this dial comes in flawlessly with the Rolex Daytona watch. Specifically, we admire this meteorite model with its ton of observable aesthetic qualities. A meteorite dial wears really grandly on the wrist.

Additionally, we enjoy the monochromatic, low-contrast feel of the diamond-and-meteor Day-Date. Yet, the Daytona wrist watch collection features a punchy look that we believe makes it a perfect fit. And with the black sub-dials, we can see a massive difference, just like the black bezel on the white-gold edition. 

Generally, it’s difficult to tell how impressive this effect will be in person, but we can say all three of these chronographs will definitely stun! How much more when it is now a meteorite watch?

General Specs of the Rolex Daytona Wristwatch

• Product Name: Rolex Cosmograph Daytona
• Product References: 116509 (Meteorite), 116508 (Yellow Gold), 116505 (Everose Gold), 116519LN (White Gold)
• Case Material: White Gold, Everose Gold, Yellow Gold
• Thickness: 11mm
• Products’ Diameter: 40mm
• Dial Color: Meteorite
• Lume: Yes, on hands and hour markers
• Dial Indexes: Arabic numerals, Applied batons
• Water Resistance Level: 330 feet or 100m
• Watch’s Strap or Bracelet: Oysterflex rubber bracelet featuring white-gold folding Oysterlock clasp, Everose Gold Bracelet, or Yellow-gold Bracelet.

General Movement Specifications

• Movement Caliber: 4130
• Functions: Seconds, Minutes, Hours, Chronograph (12-hour, 30-minute, and 60-second totalizers)
• Thickness: 6.5mm
• Movement Diameter: 30.5mm
• Power Reserve: 72 hours
• Winding Type: Automatic
• Movement Frequency: 4 Hz (28,800 vph)
• Featured Jewels: 44
• Total Components: 201
• Comes with Rolex Superlative Chronometer Certified (COSC + Rolex certification)
• Extra Specs: Regulated to +2/-2 seconds per day after watch gets cased. Utilizes a Parachrom hairspring and a Paraflex shock system which are both proprietary to Rolex.

Introducing The Daytona 116509 Meteorite Watch

Indeed, it is Rolex’s most coveted timepiece. More so, the Rolex Daytona 116509 meteorite watch makes the Daytona wristwatch collection the brand’s most diverse sports watch line. One can find the Rolex Daytona wristwatch in many materials, such as steel, two-tone, platinum, and gold.

As one would expect, Rolex doesn’t just make the Daytona in one type of gold. In the Rolex style, this watch comes in three different shades, which include white gold, which is what we’re highlighting in this post. 

Truly, Rolex did not just begin to make stainless steel and yellow gold Daytona chronographs. This production dates back to the collection’s inception in the early-1960s. However, white gold only became a choice in the late-1990s. Plus, it wasn’t until the mid-2000s before a white gold Daytona wristwatch got outfitted with a bracelet rather than a leather strap.

Being Rolex’s current 18k white gold Daytona variant, the Daytona 116509 enjoys a lot of love, and why not? To say the least, this ultra-luxurious chronograph tells the time differently. To begin with, the Daytona 116509 Meteorite watch is the only Daytona fitted with a matching white gold Oyster bracelet. 

In addition to this, it also offers up a bunch of impressive dial options, with the meteorite option being our focus here. Minimalist thanks to its white metal structure yet exceptionally elegant since that white metal is 18k gold. 

Continue reading to find out everything you need to know about the Daytona 116509 Meteorite watch. This is our utmost guide to the Rolex Daytona 116509 Meteorite watch! Dive in!

Key Specifications on the Rolex Daytona 116509 Meteorite Watch

• Case Size and Specs: 40mm with screw-down winding crown and screw-down chronograph pushers
• Outfitted Case Material: 18k white gold
• Dial Design: Chronograph center hand and three subdials; small seconds hand at 6 o’clock, 30-minute counter at 3 o’clock, 12-hour counter at 9 o’clock
• Bezel: Fixed 18k white gold, tachymeter engraved
• Crystal: Sapphire
• Movement Caliber: 4130 automatic movement
• Water Resistance Level: 100 meters
• Bracelet: 18k white gold Oyster Movement

Quick Chronicles of Rolex Daytona Wristwatch

The Rolex Daytona wristwatch has a lengthy and lustrous history. If we must summarize the long and storied history of the Cosmograph Daytona most creatively and understandably possible, we must split it up. The Rolex Daytona wristwatch’s history is divided into three main eras you should be aware of. 

The First Era

The first era features the manual-winding variants with four-digit reference numbers that Rolex manufactured from 1963 until 1988. For this first part of the Daytona history, they were, as a group, the most collectible vintage Rolex timepieces you can find out there. 

The production of these watches got additional and even better fame thanks to Paul Newman. Paul Newman’s vintage Daytona sold for a record-breaking $17.8 million at an auction. That’s proof of how much value the Daytona wristwatch offers.

The Second Era

From 1988, the second Daytona era began with the presence of both larger timepieces (40mm rather than the 37mm) and automatic models. This Swiss manufacturer maximized the benefits of a Zenith El-Primero base movement to power these five-digit Daytona variants. 

However, the brand adjusted about 50% of the movement and gave it a new name, the Rolex Caliber 4030. This new era got nicknamed the Zenith Daytona as Rolex began offering more options to the Daytona lineup. With new offerings came new material possibilities like white gold. Still, Rolex outfitted the white gold “Zenith” Daytona ref. 16519 with a leather strap instead of the traditional Oyster bracelet.

The Third Era

With six-digit reference Daytona timepieces making their debut at Baselworld in 2000, a new era began. The former Zenith El Primo movements were replaced with Rolex’s in-house Caliber 4130. Also, the COSC-certified Caliber 4130 automatic chronograph movement came in with its numerous benefits, including fewer components for enhanced reliability. There is also the Parachrom hairspring for improved resistance to external elements. We cannot also forget its 72 hours of power reserve. 

Soon after introducing the first batch of Daytona watches with in-house movements, Rolex strengthened the full white gold Daytona 116509 meteorite watch. This timepiece got enhanced to the range in 2004, furnished with a white gold Oyster bracelet.

Walking Through The Rolex Daytona 116509 Timeline

• Rolex launched the Cosmograph chronograph in 1963
• The Swiss watchmaker gave the chronograph the Cosmograph Daytona chronograph as its new name in 1964
• The contemporary automatic Daytona collection (powered by Zenith El Primero-base movements) displaces the former era of manual-winding Daytona in 1988
• Rolex launches the first white gold Daytona model in the shape of the ref. 16519 paired with a leather strap in 1997
• 2000 saw Rolex substitute the Daytona ref. 16519 with the white gold ref. 116519, which now featured an in-house movement.
• In 2004, Rolex launched the first white gold Daytona featuring a white gold Oyster bracelet in the shape of the ref. 116509
• The Daytona 116509 wristwatch added a new sunburst blue dial option in 2016
• Finally, in 2021, Rolex added a new meteorite dial to the Daytona 116509 with black subdials for contrast. 

Dissecting the Daytona 116509 Meteorite Watch (White Gold)

With the first glance, any unsuspecting observer may misconstrue the silvery metallic hue of the Daytona 116509 for stainless steel. However, connoisseurs are well familiar with this particular Daytona being a product of 18k white gold material. 

With a consistent commitment to employing the finest materials, Rolex has an in-house foundry to guarantee the pure blend of elements to generate the best feasible gold.

Therefore, the Daytona 116509 Meteorite watch is unlike any Daytona wristwatch in the Rolex lineup. Starting from the bezel down to the Oysterlock clasp, the whole exterior of this men’s sports watch comes outfitted from flawless 18k white gold material. 

Although this watch still maintains a masculine and powerful fit on the wrist, here is a rare Daytona with an all-white-gold finish. Its build earns it a place among some of the most striking timepieces in the Rolex line of watches.

One notable part of the allure of the Rolex Daytona wristwatch is that it’s so personal, owing to its aesthetic. This aesthetic quality has remained relatively constant all through its history. With the Daytona 116509 Meteorite watch, you get the standard 40mm Oyster case with the screw-down crown and screw-down pushers at 2 and 4 o’clock. 

Likewise, its sporty appearance gets further executed by the three-link Oyster bracelet, which is significantly heavier than the stainless steel equivalent.

Nonetheless, the bracelet is exceptionally comfortable, thanks to the Easylink system. This bracelet system makes room for the wearer to lengthen the bracelet up to 5mm. Finished with the tachymeter-engraved fixed bezel, the Daytona 116509 protects the scratch-proof sapphire crystal and has a shield over the dial.

Conclusion

The Daytona 116509 is a new addition and a different shade of what has always been an outstanding Daytona wristwatch collection. With this meteorite watch, Rolex once again proves what makes it one of the best luxury watchmakers out there.