Rolex Daytona 2023 (ref. 1265xx)

Quick specs Rolex Daytona 2023
Price: € 15.100 to € 42.500 | $ 15,100 to $ 42,500 | £ 12,700 to £ 35.800
Size: 40 mm
Reference:
126500LN (steel)
126503 (steel-gold)
126518LN (yellow gold)
126505 (Everose gold)
126506 (platinum)

This is the new Rolex Daytona for 2023, the latest Daytona and the successor of the Daytona series with reference 1165xx. The new Cosmograph Daytona – its official name – is reference 1265xx and you could say this is the fourth generation since its introduction in 1963. (Yes, it is 60 years old.)

The first series is hand-wound, the second series (from 1988) has a modified Zenith automatic movement, and the third series (from 2000) has an in-house Rolex automatic, caliber 4130. The fourth and new series comes with a brand-new chronograph movement, the Rolex caliber 4131. A mayor update, and for now, it comes in five different variants.

Let’s start with the visual changes on the new Rolex Daytona 2023. The case is still 40 millimeters, but has a slightly changed shape, a bit more tapered and less rounded. On the models with a Cerachrom bezel there is a thin band around the bezel, made of the same metal as the middle case. And only the platinum version has a transparent case back.

The dial has been sharpened as well. The rings around the sub-counters are thinner, the markers are a bit sharper, which improved the overall readability of the dial. No mayor changes so far.

The new movement is the biggest change for the new Rolex Daytona 2023

The biggest change is the movement. The caliber 4130 of the previous series has proven its quality since the year 2000, but apparently it was time for an update. Well, the caliber 4130 was solid as a rock, so there are only some minor changes.

The escapement has changed, the design of the rotor as well and the finish of the decoration is upgraded. It still has a column wheel chronograph with vertical clutch, it still has a sufficient power reserve of 72 hours. The rotor of the platinum version with transparent case back is solid gold. Nice for the eye. But too bad for the other versions that still have a screw-down case back fully made of the material of the case. There are more little changes for the movement, but nobody will notice.

The price of the new Rolex Daytona 2023 starts around 15.100 euro / 15,100 USD / 12,700 GBP for the steel Daytona and goes up to around 42.500 euro / 42,500 USD / 35,800 GBP for the Everose gold version. The price of the platinum version is upon request.