Hello Riza,
Thank you for sending in this wristwatch to mearto.com for an appraisal. I will be happy to help you with that tonight.
TITLE:
Gent’s, water-resistant (100m), self-winding, 18K yellow gold and stainless steel wristwatch with round button chronograph, three registers and 18k gold tachometer with 18K yellow gold and Steelinox Oyster bracelet (1FY 78593) with Oysterlock clasp, “Steel and 18k Yellow Gold, Oyster Perpetual, Superlative Chronometer, Officially Certified, Cosmograph Daytona” model, Case number 0505F306, ref. 116523, Mvmt number 4QZ23700, made by Rolex Geneva, Switzerland, circa 2011-2020 (based on the case number) . Accompanied by presentation box and Sales books except it is missing the warranty.
DESCRIPTION:
CASE: 40MM diameter, three leaf, solid, polished and brushed stainless steel and 18k yellow gold tonneau shaped steel watch case with round and fixed 18k gold bezel marked with tachymeter readings to 400 units/hour, screwed-down, knurled edge case back, 18k gold screwed down chronograph fluted round buttons and screwed down gold crown with logo, "Triplock" winding crown protected by the rounded blunt end crown guard, sapphire crystal overlies the dial. The watch is integrated with a Steelinox (904L steel) and 18k gold link Oyster bracelet with the gold links up the middle flanked by the steel at the edges. The links are solid block links, and there are extra links provided to alter the size of the bracelet. The gold Cornet sits on the clasp which is made of steel and marked, “Rolex, Geneva, Switzerland, Steelinox, RolexSA, and N9F”.
DIAL: Bicolor flat white and polished gold with applied gold Coronet @12, luminous gold boat-shaped hour indices with square indices adjacent to the registers, open bar minutes/seconds track with elongated bars placed every five minute/seconds and the seconds are divided into fifths of a second. There are three subsidiary dials for the seconds @6, the 12-hour register @9 and 30-minute register @3. Luminous gold and black pointy "baton" hands with gilt arrowhead sweep center seconds’ chronograph pointer. The dial is marked, “Rolex, Oyster Perpetual, Superlative Chronometer, Officially Certified, Cosmograph Daytona” and “Swiss made” at the base of the dial. {Between 2006 and 2007, Rolex began to engrave the serial number on the dial rehaut, or inner bezel, at the six o’clock position (as well as between the case lugs) on some models. It takes close inspection but the number is visible through the crystal. Between 2008 and 2010, Rolex gradually phased out engraving the serial number on the case between the lugs. I cannot see that rehaut well enough to see if the serial number is marked in that location as it should be.}
MOVEMENT: Not shown but assumed to be the Rolex Cal. 4130, a self-winding, rhodium-plated, stippled perlage decorated plates, 44 jewels, straight-line lever escapement, monometallic balance adjusted to 5 positions, shock absorber, self-compensating free sprung Breguet balance spring, Microstella regulating screws with the dial, case and movement triple signed. There are 201 individual parts, vibrating at 28800 beats/hour with a power reserve of 72 hours, Paraflex Shock System with Hairspring Parachrom Blue, column wheel and features include: Hours, minutes, small seconds, central chronograph seconds, 30 minutes counter, 12 hours counter and tachymeter function.{Rolex released their own caliber 4130 in 2000. It is completely designed and manufactured by the Rolex themselves. Prior to that the same calibre was supplied to them, at least in part, by Zenith watches.}
CONDITION/QUESTIONS:
Case – very good with few superficial scrapes on the bracelet links and some scuffing to the top of the gold tachymeter scale. The bracelet clasp also has some scuffs and rubs but remains in very good condition.
Dial – Cannot see the rehaut section but otherwise in excellent condition.
Movement – Assumed as described, genuine to this case, original and functional.
Papers – Missing the warranty- how significant is this? {All new Rolex watches bought as of 1 July 2015 now come with an international 5-year guarantee. Watches bought between 1 July 2013 and 30 June 2015 have all had their guarantee extended to 3 years.} Warranty cards are an important addition piece to the purchase of a Rolex watch. Each officially sold, new Rolex will come with a warranty card. Depending on the location of the sale, the warranty card could look different from a warranty card from another location. Warranty cards not only ensure that the watch is an authentic Rolex, but also adds to the resale value when included. Many dealers and perhaps those in the auction business can make a thriving business by holding back the warranty card on unsuspecting customers. However, once you own the watch and have it serviced at a Rolex dealership you get a new 2 year warranty card. Most of us are unaware of the thriving business of buying and selling Rolex warranty paperwork and tags. My bottom line for the buyer is that the merchandise will sell itself at the proper level. The website millinery watches says that the paperwork is worth 10-20% of the value of the watch, so let’s take a 15% discount on the value of this watch (below). {I just want to add the over the years watch collectors, including you, have shown me papers from the archival on the upper end watches which these watch companies will provide to you if you send them your watch or pay a price for supplying the information. I do not know how that works.}
As far as the age of this watch the case number does tell us that it dates between 2011 and 2020. However, I believe that the bracelet reference, given as 1FY-78593, Can offer a clue. There are pages online that tell of how to date such a Rolex bracelet and the key appears to be the 1FY (the 78593 bracelet has been made for decades). The FY indicate a year while the 1 is a month marking. While investigating this I certainly found the double letters and single numeral listing, but the list I was shown online did not come fully up to the present year and the letter Y was not yet listed, in fact, it had been skipped entirely. This suggests to me that this bracelet was likely made within the past few, perhaps five years, but that is just a guess on my part. You should try to investigate that aspect.
COMPARABLES:
~https://www.jomashop.com/rolex-watch-116503.html (Retail price $25000)
~https://catalog.antiquorum.swiss/en/lots/rolex-ref-116523-daytona-lot-339-159?browse_all=1&page=1&q=Rolex+ref.+116523m (made in 2008 this similar model with a grey dial sold for $18500)
~https://catalog.antiquorum.swiss/en/lots/rolex-ref-116523-daytona-lot-324-181?browse_all=1&page=1&q=Rolex+ref.+116523 (Same model with paperwork and grey dial was estimated in 2019 at 20K-30K and failed to sell)
~https://www.barnebys.com/realized-prices/lot/klockor-rolex-mSmiJJRbtpL (2007 model white and gold dial, sold in 2021 for $12996)
~https://www.barnebys.com/realized-prices/lot/klockor-rolex--WBet9jkam (2009 example sold in 2020 for $12198)
~https://www.barnebys.com/realized-prices/lot/rolex-daytona-S4Ye-ZKsRO (2009 example sold in 2019 for $11998)
~https://www.tourneau.com/watches/pre-owned-rolex/daytona-yellow-gold-and-stainless-steel-automatic-116523-VRX9711429.html (Tourneau is selling this model made in the 2010s for $14000.)
~https://txauction.com/lots/33982 - This may be the lot you are interested in and it has already reached $15300 with 4.5 days left. Well the top price I can find is about $25000 and since retail and fair market prices for such watches are very similar today you might want to reach for the $25000 watch and reduce it by 15% for the lack of warranty and you are then topping out at $21500. Taking the full 20% off would bring you in at $20000. All depends on how much you want it. I would also add that you should figure to be “all in” at $20000, including whatever the premium is charged to buy it.
ALSO REMEMBER THE HISTORY OF THE PLACEMENT OF THE SERIAL NUMBERS: On models produced before 2007, the Rolex serial number is located between the bottom lugs (where the band connects to the case). You will need to remove the band to view the serial number. For watches produced from 1926 until 1987, the Rolex serial numbers are sequential. Use the table below to look up the production year of your watch. From 1987 until 2009, the letter preceding the serial number designates the watch’s year of manufacture. It’s also important to note, the Rolex serial number is not an absolute identifier of the watch’s production date. Components may have been stockpiled for some before being used for assembly. But it’s safe to say the serial number provides a 1-2 year range on the age of the watch. Also, to repeat myself - Between 2006 and 2007, Rolex began to engrave the serial number on the dial rehaut, or inner bezel, at the six o’clock position (as well as between the case lugs) on some models. It takes close inspection but the number is visible through the crystal. Between 2008 and 2010, Rolex gradually phased out engraving the serial number on the case between the lugs. I cannot see that rehaut well enough to see if the serial number is marked in that location as it should be.
PRICING:
Therefore, I believe this is a fairly new model (based on the bracelet reference numbers), made within the past 3-5 years, in very good to excellent condition. It is a beautiful watch and one that I would expect to continue to grow in value, but who can predict what will happen to the economy during the chaotic times. Remember we saw the market fall from 33000 to 18000 in a couple of days. So, I cannot predict much these days. However, I do think getting this watch for $20000-$21500 is not a bad price to pay and I can foresee the day when the price will continue to jump above retail prices, as they having been doing with fine Rolex watches for a couple of years now. Good luck and thank you for choosing merto.com for the appraisal.
My best,
David