Daytona 116506 (PT), or 116509 (WG-blue)?

[winedemonium]

For a very long time I owned the white dial 116520. I bought that watch new from an AD in 2011, and sold it in 2017 (ouch!). It was my daily wear for most of those years. Of course that watch is in stainless steel, not a weight that completely disappears, but compared to these next two possibilities, very much so...

It's funny how when you sell something you have known and enjoyed for a long time you miss it, right? I'm sure we've all experienced that. But I have also realised that it is not enough to look at pictures of watches, or even to try them on. To really know how you connect (or not) with a watch, you must own it and wear it.

When the 116500LN came out I knew I wanted one of those. But the story of getting one of these is well known. In some markets its been possible to get one - after a wait, by being on the waitlist. But where I live, that has meant nothing, and as of May 2018, ADs are saying "no chance at all", or "only for VVIPs who spend a lot of money with us." Well, I do have a couple of high end purchases on the horizon, so maybe I'll "qualify", but at the same time, some of these deliberately-hard-to-get watches end up making me feel a bit frustrated and resentful. So I have put the 116500LN out of my mind for the time being.

Recently though I was browsing through the current Daytona models on the Rolex website to see what else there was and I came across the white gold version with the blue dial. That really caught my eye. I'd never really been a fan of Rolex's choice of Roman numerals or arabic numerals on the gold models. Each to their own, I know! The little "pip" appliced indices on my old 116520 seemed right, and the new blue dial on the 116509 has those. That deep blue appeals to me, and the sportier treatment of the dial the gold versions are known for also seems no too over the top (to my taste anyway). But I have yet to try this version in the metal.

However, today I was in an AD who has in stock the 116506 (with chocolate-ringed sub-dials, and regular 'pips' - no diamonds). I tried the watch on.

I have to say, this is the first time I have tried on a solid platinum watch on platinum bracelet. The weight is immediately obvious. I guess this piece is for alternating wrists and working out with!

That said, the comfort of the oysters bracelet is well known and all that mass seems reasonably well balanced - far more so than having that platinum watch head on a leather strap might I would guess. So I sat there admiring the watch and wondered if the feeling of that mass - balanced as it might be - ever really disappears, or rather, disappears enough not to be a drag.

The platinum Daytonas are heavier than the gold ones, but perhaps not by so much that the difference matters. In other words, if steel feels fine, but platinum doesn't, then perhaps the white gold one wouldn't either, if you see what I mean? In my view I just won't know without owning for a period of time. The 'rent' is really the entry cost less the eventual sale income. While these pieces are expensive that "rent" if often reasonable. And who knows, perhaps one of these will become a longer term keeper.

In the end the aesthetics become a deeply personal choice. (I'm sure there are many Daytona lovers here who would choose those sportier arabic numeral Daytonas - I think Rolex has been good at covering quite a wide range of appeal with this model). I know I really like that ice blue dial with chocolate brown sub-dials and bezel. I'm sure I will know how I feel about that blue dial on the 2016< white gold version (on white gold bracelet).

Some other considerations on my mind as I ponder these two pieces...
- the PTD will tie up about double the capital the WGD would. (I mostly don't put additional cash into watches - I circulate funds by flipping).
- I have the perception that the PTD might scratch less, or be less obviously scratched than the WGD (owners I'm sure can set me straight here!).
- the WGD with the dial variant I am looking at is the current model, so it costs more than the older version of essentially the same watch. I wonder that Rolex might release a cerachrom bezel WGD in 2019 or 2020 (phasing out the metal bezels altogether), and this white gold bezel version might take a larger than average hit in value. Pure speculation I know...
- you may laugh, and you may think this ironic given my choices here (!), but I feel self-conscious about "blingy" watches. My first Rolex was a two-tone GMT Master II Ceramic I bought new in 2010. I really loved that watch, but felt self-conscious about the yellow gold component when wearing it with short sleeves. I wished I had bought the all steel version. I did feel fine wearing my steel 116520 Daytona, despite it being an iconic Rolex piece, fairly well recognised. But I don't think I would buy a yellow gold or rose gold Daytona (I only want a Daytona on bracelet), because the metal attracts a attention - as much as I think they look fantastic. White gold has a slight honey gold glow to in certain light, but is not as obviously gold as the yellow or rose variants, and platinum has a brilliant silvery look that makes steel look dull and grey, but again, from a distance it could pass as steel to the less initiated. (I perhaps I'm fooling myself here!).

I especially look forward to hearing from owners of either of these two watches, though I think all solid precious metal Daytona owner experiences would be valuable to me - especially if you, like me, are a bit shy about bling.

Maybe the answer is simply that I must wait for a steel 16500. But I am curious about the 116506 PT and the 116509 WG blue dial. I'd love to hear your experiences.

It may be some weeks or even months before I pull the trigger, but I will update here once I've tried on the white gold piece.

Thanks.