Panda 116500 vs 126500

[10splaya]

Im thinking about getting a new Panda Daytona

What are the plus and minus of the 2024 126500 vs the 116500

As far as aesthetics looks performance etc etc?

Is the Panda worth spending double retail?

Thanks in advance

[thegrandseirolexguy]

Originally Posted by 10splaya

Im thinking about getting a new Panda Daytona

What are the plus and minus of the 2024 126500 vs the 116500

As far as aesthetics looks performance etc etc?

Is the Panda worth spending double retail?

Thanks in advance

The movement has been enhanced in the 126 series to the chronergy escapement system. Rolex touts it as being ~15% more efficient than traditional Swiss lever escapements so perhaps a slightly longer PR than stated may be observed?

Aesthetically, I prefer the 116 purely for the fatter sub dials. The sub dials on the 126 look a little starved to me.

Lugs are symmetrical on the 126 so maybe it’ll wear better too? And it has a steel ring around the ceramic bezel, a nod to its heritage. Though I haven’t had a chance to try on the 126 series yet.

I personally can’t stomach paying double retail for any watch. But there’s no doubt that it’s a good , even great watch. At current asking prices, I expect not to have any wire springs in my watch, which the Daytona has.

The movement alone speaks volumes of Rolex engineering prowess. Mass scale manufacturing of a chronograph movement like the 413x , they really hit it out of the park with this movement.

Cut down the part count, made it watchmaker friendly and easy to service, even the vertical clutch chronograph runner assembly can be disassembled and serviced, unlike many other vertical clutch movements.

The movement is also respectably and completely finished.

Crucially, the reliability, productivity gains from streamlined servicing, part count reduction and concomitant reduced stocking requirements etc all have the dual advantage of enhancing the prestige & value of the Daytona, whilst also feeding into the Rolex bottom line.

I’m no Daytona fanboy but credit where credit is due, the movement is the epitome of a solid workhorse. Like the 7750 ETAs.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk so

[Guppydriver]

Unless you are already partial to the 116 (which you probably aren't since you are asking), mine as well go new.

If you are black dial dude, go 126 for sure.

However, I can see how some prefer the white dial of the 116 comparatively.

The 126 white dial white reminds me of seeing a beautiful woman without eyeliner or mascara for the first time. Still gorgeous, but just a little less striking. The thicker black sub dials of the previous model provided more depth and contrast.

That said, I would still choose the 126, even with the white dial.

[Neil McCauley]

Originally Posted by Guppydriver

Unless you are already partial to the 116 (which you probably aren't since you are asking), mine as well go new.

If you are black dial dude, go 126 for sure.

However, I can see how some prefer the white dial of the 116 comparatively.

The 126 white dial white reminds me of seeing a beautiful woman without eyeliner or mascara for the first time. Still gorgeous, but just a little less striking. The thicker black sub dials of the previous model provided more depth and contrast.

That said, I would still choose the 126, even with the white dial.

Hahaha brilliant analogy lol

[milgauss2232]

If there is one with the look you prefer, no opinion on the internet should sway you. If however you’re on the fence, I would get the 12 just because it’s new and would probably age better.

There are a few long threads on this topic already, you can do a search and see the other hundreds of opinions on this

[karleone]

I own the white 126500, the white 116500 is not mine (I have as well a black 116500).
The 116500 asymmetrical slim case looks better. For all the rest the 126500 is an upgrade (thinner subdials and indices, bezel ring, new endlink shape, thinner makes it very comfortable and even more than the 116500). The 126500 wears slightly larger than the 116500.

[10splaya]

Thanks for the posts!

The search function on the forum is not that great where you can search just in the forum youre currently looking at

And yes to pay double retail really sucks when you dont have a connection or dont have at least over 100-200k spend with Rolex. The fact taht they dont make at least from what Ive read that many Daytonas makes it more ‘obsolete’?

Im still thinking about it.

Im in the market for a white faced watch with a black bezel. So of course the Daytona caught my eye

[Mystro]

There is a lot of threads on this exact topic…..I mean a lot.

[EEpro]

Originally Posted by 10splaya

Thanks for the posts!

The search function on the forum is not that great where you can search just in the forum youre currently looking at

And yes to pay double retail really sucks when you dont have a connection or dont have at least over 100-200k spend with Rolex. The fact taht they dont make at least from what Ive read that many Daytonas makes it more ‘obsolete’?

Im still thinking about it.

Im in the market for a white faced watch with a black bezel. So of course the Daytona caught my eye

Zenith chronomaster sport is a good white dial black ceramic option. A little thicker case than Daytona and just a little less finishing but for 1/3 the money it's worth trying on.

[bliss]

I own the 126500 white and its a great watch but i like my no date sub better. I couldn't/wouldn't pay gray prices for it but it really depends on your access to rolex and how much you want the watch. if you love it and want only that one then it might be worth going gray and saving the AD hassle

[karleone]

You should have a look at this thread

https://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=950372

[Bazil]

There’s oh so many thread and opinions, too many ..

[jcdevoe26]

Originally Posted by 10splaya

Im thinking about getting a new Panda Daytona

What are the plus and minus of the 2024 126500 vs the 116500

As far as aesthetics looks performance etc etc?

Is the Panda worth spending double retail?

Thanks in advance

I was in the same situation recently. I personally do not like the changes made in the new 12 series. I am a fan of the quirkiness of the asymmetrical lugs and smaller size of the 116550ln (I have smaller wrists). I did give the 12 series a try (went and tried it on) and just did not like the newer (not really new as its the case that the WG/RG daytonas have been using for years) case dimensions and feel on my wrist....so I went ahead and bit the bullet and paid probably far too much for an unworn/fully sticker 116500ln and guess what I do not regret it at all. I love the watch and its not going to be resold so dont really care about "losing money", the watch will be handed down to my daughter at some point down the road anyways and so the smaller size will work for her as well :-)

[joli160]

126500 is the one. It’s not worth the 30k but you have to pay to play.

[OG1982]

Not a huge fan of the Daytona, but the new one looks nicer, at least to my eye.

[2loaded]

Originally Posted by joli160

126500 is the one. It’s not worth the 30k but you have to pay to play.

?
MSRP is $15,100 in the states.. The 126 is the latest and greatest, OP

[joli160]

Originally Posted by 2loaded

?
MSRP is $15,100 in the states.. The 126 is the latest and greatest, OP

Yes, but almost nobody can buy one at an AD and are forced to pay market price

[karleone]

Originally Posted by jcdevoe26

I was in the same situation recently. I personally do not like the changes made in the new 12 series. I am a fan of the quirkiness of the asymmetrical lugs and smaller size of the 116550ln (I have smaller wrists). I did give the 12 series a try (went and tried it on) and just did not like the newer (not really new as its the case that the WG/RG daytonas have been using for years) case dimensions and feel on my wrist....so I went ahead and bit the bullet and paid probably far too much for an unworn/fully sticker 116500ln and guess what I do not regret it at all. I love the watch and its not going to be resold so dont really care about "losing money", the watch will be handed down to my daughter at some point down the road anyways and so the smaller size will work for her as well :-)

The 1265 cases have a new case - it’s not the same as the 116509 116505 116506 even if the designs are close - they are different dimensions, thinner, and the endlink design is very different.

[brandrea]

The 126 looks more refined to my eye

[10splaya]

Good responses!

It just kills me to pay double retail LOL

I guess one day down the road it will be worth the same price or a little more

I doubt its worth 30k but...at least one day it won't be worth 15k

IDK well see its a lot of money to blow on a watch LOL

[Spoonage]

I have a white 116500 and predominantly like it better than the looks on the new one. Not a fan of the outer ring around the ceramic insert. I do however prefer the dial on the new one to mine. Case is up in the air. I do like the quirkiness of the mismatched lug widths, but also do like the new case as well... I'm not really helping but IF I had to choose I would go previous vs new.

[EEpro]

Plutonium is by far the best element.

[Ferrari-F430]

Originally Posted by 2loaded

?
MSRP is $15,100 in the states.. The 126 is the latest and greatest, OP

I've been to several AD's and NONE of them will even take this as a request. Well, to clarify, they tell me if I put it on my request list it's a 100% waste to do so, so I don't. They aren't going to magically pick you just because you listed it. My AD told me it could be 10 years and I still may not get one. So yea, $30K-ish right now if you have to have one for 99.9% of the population.

[kritameth]

I own both, and it's tough. Sentimentally, the 116500LN was my wedding watch. That aside and trying to be as objective as possible, if I was starting over the "pros" and "cons" are not material enough for me to not go for the current reference from an AD. It gets tougher when talking secondary with similar prices. I prefer the case shape (w.r.t. both the asymmetry and side profile) of the 116, but the size of the 126 on my 7" wrist, for the type of watch I envision the Daytona to be (a sports watch, first and foremost), is just about perfect (funny that in actuality, outside these hypotheticals, the 116 is my "dress" watch, so the size is beautiful). The overall dial/subdial balance looks a bit better to me on the 116, but I prefer the 16520-esque indices of the 126. Really nitpicking here IMHO. Indifferent about the crown guard and bezel ring. In conclusion, they're both great; it's the 116 for me personally, for sentimental reasons, but it easily could've been the 126.

[RollingInTheDeep]

Will say the same as many others have. Also will note in case it's lost on anyone, to debate which $30k watch is better, which that looks identical to ~90%+ of the population, is one hell of a good problem to have :) Of course, no one is buying it for anyone else but themself, so a warranted debate!

1. 12 black > 11 black.
2. 11 white > 12 white - due to the same reason others have said. Thinner dials throw off contrast balance due to thickness of bezel. SS ring doesn't feel right, though realize others like/love it.
3. Not sure if other's agree, but I feel like Rolex went "all out" when designing the 11, where they needed to "find" ways to update it for the 12.

[jcdevoe26]

Originally Posted by karleone

The 1265 cases have a new case - it’s not the same as the 116509 116505 116506 even if the designs are close - they are different dimensions, thinner, and the endlink design is very different.

thanks I didnt realize there were actually different, they seemed so similar to me.

[ukwatchguy1]

I prefer the 116 white but 126 in black. However the black just looks too hard to read and for the price of the Daytona on the grey market the black is just too under the radar for me.

I am considering purchasing a 116 still and getting rid of my new batgirl but like others have said it is painful to blow double retail and is a lot of money for me to justify on a watch,

I have come across people before who managed to get a 116 panda at retail but eventually sold and were more than happy with a sub/ sub date, so I am also being careful not to be carried away by hype

[Manamana]

The Panda is the original 116500 that started the whole Rolex hype, the first reference to be become an obtainable from Rolex, original ceramic white dial steel Daytona that was introduced in 2016 and started the 10 years+ waiting lists if you manage to get on the waiting list in the first place that is. The new 126500 white dial Daytona is fine, but it should be given a new Nickname or just the white dial 126500 Daytona. The nickname haters and reference number lovers will be happy with it.

[Greg.A]

Originally Posted by karleone

You should have a look at this thread

https://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=950372

Indeed, refer this poll where 126500 wins over 116500, over 600+ voters voted. As the TS put it, numbers don’t lie. Also similar results over at Fratellowatches where 126500 emerged the winner.

[EEpro]

Originally Posted by Greg.A

Indeed, refer this poll where 126500 wins over 116500, over 600+ voters voted. As the TS put it, numbers don’t lie. Also similar results over at Fratellowatches where 126500 emerged the winner.

"I reject your facts and insert my own reality!"

This watch is pretty tough to beat and I've owned many 11 series configurations.