Opinions on the 116519 Daytona, panda, Arabic

[Born2Bpoor]

Howdy folks, I’ll start off my admitting that I have very limited experience with Rolexes. I’ve only ever bought a black sub, no date (Cyclops hater here), a few years ago, AKA the standard watch of anyone working in Central, Hong Kong (at least it was a few years ago).

I’m strongly considering the 116519 with the panda dial.



I’m mainly drawn to the fact that it has a Paul Newman look thanks to the panda dial. The movement is also attractive, accurate and is OCD friendly (the needle not resetting to zero perfectly on my IWC Port Chrono is not so OCD friendly; I heard the 4130 has a perfect reset).
The white gold construction is almost indistinguishable from stainless steel visually. I like that kind of subtlety.

This would be a fairly considerable expense for me so I didn’t want to just jump in, so I’m looking for the opinions of more knowledgeable Rolex people.

So, in terms of readily available, modern 4130 caliber Daytonas with Arabic, is this reference a fairly good, perhaps “best” choice?

[AK797]

Love the watch but just see if ceramic bezel version comes out at Basel.

[jjnd08]

Originally Posted by AK797

Love the watch but just see if ceramic bezel version comes out at Basel.

[watchwatcher]

The panda dial is stunning, for sure. As far as "best", that's purely subjective and a very personal choice. What's best for me, as I'm a bracelet guy, may not be the same for you if you like straps.

Do agree with Neil, though, it might be worth it so see if any major changes come the Daytona's way at Basel.

[GolfPunk]

My beautiful Panda 116509:



The 4130:

[raclaims]

Looks awesome...man if they make that with a ceramic bezel this year at basel I'm so in

[Vaxe]

Chances are the ceramic reference will be offered at the same price, if so and all factors remain unchanged, I encourage buying it now as a WG bezel is worth more than a ceramic.

Currently:
116509 bracelet - $37,450
116519 leather - $26,650