Anyone who is ‘into watches’ knows the Daytona, it’s perhaps the eponymous chronograph of the modern day. Rugged, distinctive and now sadly nearly impossible to get hold of in its current guise without felating an authorized dealer with unpleasant regularity, paying an enormous premium on the secondary market or being a professional sportsman. My proclivity for such things is nearly non-existent and I’m certainly no athlete, but I was fortunate enough to come by my Rolex Zenith Daytona 16520 before today’s market manipulation was a ‘thing’, as they say.

Launched in 1988, the 16520 or Zenith Daytona as they’ve come to be known, was Rolex’s first automatic chronograph, the first to be housed in the now legendary 40mm case, and features a heavily modified and excellent Zenith El Primero movement, hence the moniker. These were the last to feature any differences in dials or bezels so loved by Rolex collectors, and mine is a mark 3 for those interested.

Can I recommend it; unreservedly yes! It is perhaps the most versatile watch I own, from any brand. It is suitably waterproof to not think twice before hitting the 10m board at the pool, suitably svelte to wear with a suit but also casual enough to wear with shorts. If one were to have only one watch, which I certainly don’t advocate, but if you did, this should be it! Chronograph legibility is excellent as you’d expect from a three counter, and while the lume is tritium and therefore non functional any longer, it has started to age beautifully and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

It is so ‘perfect’ in fact, that Rolex hasn’t changed the case dimensions, even for their latest iteration, three generations later. Buy the Rolex Zenith Daytona 16520 with confidence, especially if it’s to be your only one.