Rolex Daytona 116523 'Racing Blue'

Rolex Daytona 116523: Blue Racing Dial, Direct From Its First Owner

The 116523 is the two tone Daytona, Oystersteel with solid 18k yellow gold, produced from 2000 until 2016. It came in a long list of dial variants, and the blue Racing is the one collectors actually go looking for. Bright blue with contrasting silver subdials and red Daytona script, it is a configuration unique to this reference and its five digit predecessor, with no equivalent anywhere in current production. Underneath sits the caliber 4130, the movement that finally made the Daytona chronograph entirely Rolex's own.

What makes this one worth reading about is where it came from. It has been acquired directly from the man who bought it, the ownership history runs unbroken from new, and the box and papers are not gone so much as mislaid. We hold photographs of the complete set as it was originally delivered, and there is a fair chance the paperwork turns up in a drawer at some point.

There is a useful accident of timing here as well. The V series serial places this watch in 2008 or 2009, the last years before Rolex moved to random numbering in 2010 and stopped letting its watches state their own age. On this Daytona the case still dates itself, which is most of the work the missing certificate would otherwise be doing. What is left is a watch with known provenance and a readable date, offered at the number the market applies to watches that have neither. That gap is the whole proposition, and it closes the day the set reappears.

Design & Movement
40mm Oystersteel case with solid 18k yellow gold tachymeter bezel, crown and pushers, blue Racing dial with contrasting silver subdials and red Daytona script, automatic chronograph caliber 4130. Fitted to the two tone Oyster bracelet with Oysterlock clasp.

Provenance & Condition
Acquired from the original owner, with photographs of the full set as delivered available on request. Box, papers and the removed bracelet links were all mislaid together, so the bracelet is currently sized short with no spares. V series serial, placing production in 2008 or 2009.

Interested, or have questions about this piece? Send us a DM, we're happy to share more photos, condition notes, or full provenance details.

Brand: Rolex
Model: Cosmograph Daytona
Reference: 116523
Bracelet: Two tone Oystersteel and 18k yellow gold Oyster with Oysterlock clasp, sized short, no spare links
Dial: Blue Racing with silver subdials and red Daytona script
Case: Oystersteel with 18k yellow gold tachymeter bezel
Dimensions: 40mm
Box: no
Paperwork: no
Year: 2008 to 2009, V series serial