A typical Daytona comparison starts with metal and bezel: steel or gold, Cerachrom or engraved, bracelet or Oysterflex. Here, the comparison starts with WatchCharts' reported sales volume instead. The WatchCharts Daytona collection in our August 2026 dataset holds 42 references and recorded 28,704 sales over twelve months. The three most-traded are three generations of the same watch — the steel Daytona 116520, 116500 and 126500 — with 3,467, 3,351 and 3,230 sales, a spread of 237 between first and third, and 10,048 sales between them, or 35% of the whole dataset. Only two of the ten references in the top ten are still in production; the other eight are compared here by sales volume, market price and one-year trend, without a list-price comparison.
How this ranking works
Every reference is scored on a WatchCharts snapshot taken in August 2026. The ranking key is WatchCharts' twelve-month sales volume — the sales figure WatchCharts reports for each reference over the preceding year. Market prices are WatchCharts' price estimates in EUR under its published methodology, and the one-year trend is the change in that estimate over the same twelve months. For the two current-production references, list price is the Rolex European list price recorded in the snapshot, for the configuration recorded there. For the eight discontinued references we show no list-price comparison: WatchCharts carries a retail figure for several of them, but we could not trace those figures to a dated Rolex price list for the matching currency and configuration, and a comparison we cannot source is one we do not print. WatchCharts reports its figures at base-model level, without the LN suffix; where a reference was sold in more than one bezel or strap configuration over its life, the exact coverage of each configuration within the reported sales volume could not be independently verified.
The ten most-traded Daytonas
| # | Reference | Model | Market price | List price | vs list | 1Y sales (WatchCharts) | 1Y trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 116520 | Daytona, steel, engraved steel bezel, 2000–2016 | €18,017 | — | — | 3,467 | +6.1% |
| 2 | 116500 | Daytona, steel, Cerachrom bezel, 2016–2023 | €23,974 | — | — | 3,351 | +8.4% |
| 3 | 126500 | Daytona, steel, Cerachrom bezel, 2023–current | €27,773 | €16,200 | +71% | 3,230 | +8.4% |
| 4 | 116503 | Daytona, steel & yellow gold, 2016–2023 | €17,215 | — | — | 1,648 | +2.2% |
| 5 | 116523 | Daytona, steel & yellow gold, 2000–2016 | €15,504 | — | — | 1,325 | +2.1% |
| 6 | 116515 | Daytona, Everose gold, Cerachrom bezel, 2011–2023 | €31,909 | — | — | 1,272 | +7.7% |
| 7 | 116509 | Daytona, white gold, engraved bezel, Oyster bracelet, 2004–2023 | €35,317 | — | — | 1,194 | +10.3% |
| 8 | 116519 | Daytona, white gold, c.2000–2023 | €33,837 | — | — | 1,141 | +15.9% |
| 9 | 126503 | Daytona, steel & yellow gold, 2023–current | €22,048 | €23,650 | −7% | 1,079 | +5.5% |
| 10 | 116505 | Daytona, Everose gold, engraved bezel, Oyster bracelet, 2008–2023 | €38,054 | — | — | 1,061 | +2.0% |
— No list-price comparison is shown for discontinued references; see the methodology note. References are shown as WatchCharts reports them, at base-model level and without the LN suffix. List prices for current references reflect the configurations recorded in our August 2026 snapshot. Source: WatchCharts, August 2026.
Key takeaway: in our August 2026 dataset, three generations of the steel Daytona — the 116520, 116500 and 126500 — occupy the top three places, separated by just 237 reported sales.
Reference by reference
1. Daytona 116520 — 3,467 sales, the most-traded Daytona in our dataset
The first Daytona with a Rolex in-house chronograph movement: the calibre 4130, in a 40 mm steel case with an engraved steel tachymeter bezel, produced from 2000 to 2016. It trades at €18,017, the lowest market price of the three steel generations and the eighth-highest in the top ten, with a 6.1% rise in price estimate over twelve months. Its 3,467 sales put it 116 ahead of its successor. Available in our Daytona collection.
2. Daytona 116500 — 3,351 sales, 116 behind the 116520
The 2016 update kept the calibre 4130 and the 40 mm case but replaced the steel bezel with a black Cerachrom ceramic one. It was replaced in turn by the 126500 in 2023. It trades at €23,974 — €5,957 above the 116520 in estimated market price — and its price estimate rose 8.4% over the year, the same figure as its successor. In stock.
3. Daytona 126500 — the current steel Daytona, 71% above list
Introduced in 2023 with the calibre 4131, the current steel Cosmograph Daytona keeps the Cerachrom bezel and adds a polished metal edge around it. It is one of only two references in this top ten still in production, and the only one trading above its list price: €27,773 against a recorded list price of €16,200, 71% above — the largest premium against a snapshot list price in this dataset. WatchCharts reports 3,230 sales for the reference. In stock among our Daytona models.
4. Daytona 116503 — 1,648 sales, the most-traded two-tone here
The steel and yellow gold Daytona of the 2016–2023 generation, with an engraved gold bezel and the calibre 4130. Its 1,648 sales are the most of any two-tone or precious-metal reference in the top ten, just over half the volume of the third-placed 126500. It trades at €17,215, with a 2.2% one-year rise — the third-smallest here. In stock.
5. Daytona 116523 — 1,325 sales for the 2000–2016 two-tone
The predecessor of the 116503: the same steel and yellow gold combination and the same calibre 4130, produced from 2000 to 2016. At €15,504 it has the lowest market price in the top ten, and its 2.1% one-year rise is the second-smallest. The two two-tone generations are separated by €1,711 in market price and by 323 sales.
6. Daytona 116515 — Everose gold, 1,272 sales
The Everose gold Daytona with a black Cerachrom bezel, introduced in 2011 on a leather strap and fitted with the Oysterflex bracelet from 2017, calibre 4130; the reference existed in both configurations, and WatchCharts reports it at base-model level, although the sales coverage of each historical configuration remains unverified. It trades at €31,909, up 7.7% over the year, on 1,272 sales — the most-traded precious-metal reference in the top ten.
7. Daytona 116509 — white gold on bracelet, +10.3%
Fitted with an engraved white-gold bezel rather than Cerachrom, this all-white-gold reference on an Oyster bracelet was produced from 2004 to 2023 with the calibre 4130. It trades at €35,317, and its 10.3% rise in price estimate over twelve months is the second-largest in the top ten. Its reported twelve-month sales volume is 1,194.
8. Daytona 116519 — +15.9%, the largest one-year rise in the top ten
A white gold reference that changed character over its life: the early 116519 wore an engraved bezel on a leather strap, while the 116519LN of 2017 onward pairs a Cerachrom bezel with the Oysterflex bracelet. WatchCharts reports the reference at base-model level; the coverage of these configurations within its sales figure could not be independently verified. It trades at €33,837 and recorded 1,141 sales; its 15.9% rise in price estimate is the largest of any reference in this top ten.
9. Daytona 126503 — the current two-tone, 7% below list
The 2023 steel and yellow gold Daytona with the calibre 4131 — the second of the two current-production references here, and the only one trading below its list price: €22,048 against a recorded €23,650, 7% below. WatchCharts reports 1,079 sales and a 5.5% one-year rise in its price estimate. In stock.
10. Daytona 116505 — Everose on bracelet, 1,061 sales
Featuring an Everose gold case, an engraved Everose bezel and an Everose Oyster bracelet, this reference was produced from 2008 to 2023 with the calibre 4130 — the same Everose gold as the 116515, but fitted with an Oyster bracelet rather than the later 116515LN's Oysterflex. At €38,054 it carries the highest market price in the top ten, and its 2.0% one-year rise is the smallest. 1,061 sales.
What the numbers say
The comparison most readers arrive with is the last steel generation against the current one. In this snapshot the 116500 and 126500 recorded 3,351 and 3,230 sales — 121 apart — and their price estimates rose by the same 8.4% over the year. Their market prices are €3,799 apart, €23,974 against €27,773. The 126500 can be measured against a list price, and sits 71% above it; the 116500 cannot, because it left the catalogue in 2023 and we could not source its final list price to our standard. Add the 116520 and the three steel generations account for 10,048 of the dataset's 28,704 sales.
Only two of the ten references are in current production, the 126500 and the 126503; the other eight are discontinued and are shown without a list-price comparison. Between the two current references the split is by metal: the steel 126500 trades 71% above its recorded list price, the two-tone 126503 7% below. Among the eight discontinued references, market prices run from €15,504 for the 116523 to €38,054 for the 116505. Across all ten, the three steel generations rise in market price estimate from €18,017 to €23,974 to €27,773. One-year rises range from 2.0% for the 116505 to 15.9% for the 116519; the two discontinued two-tone references sit at 2.1% and 2.2%, the second- and third-smallest. Across all 42 references in the snapshot, summed by case material in our own aggregation, steel references recorded 11,515 sales, two-tone 4,737, yellow gold 4,283, white gold 3,705, Everose gold 3,620, platinum 839, and five sales belong to a reference with no recorded material — 28,704 in all, with steel at 40%.
Three of the ten are two-tone, and the one still in production, the 126503, trades below its snapshot list price. In our Submariner dataset the current two-tone 126613LB sat 23% below list while the current steel references sat above it. Both snapshots record a discount to list for the current two-tone reference; neither establishes why, and we do not read a trend into two points.
Just outside the top ten
Eleventh is the yellow-gold 116518, a reference later offered in an Oysterflex configuration as the 116518LN, with 1,047 sales and a 17.4% one-year rise — larger than any reference in the top ten. Twelfth is the 16520 of 1988–2000, the Zenith-based calibre 4030 generation, on 931 sales. Thirteenth is the 116508 in yellow gold on bracelet, with 921 sales.
Frequently asked questions
Which Daytona trades furthest above list price?
Of the two current-production references in our August 2026 snapshot, the steel 126500 trades 71% above its recorded list price; the two-tone 126503 trades 7% below. We do not show list-price comparisons for the discontinued references in this article, because their final list prices could not be traced to a dated source.
116500 or 126500 — which one trades more?
In our dataset the discontinued 116500 recorded 3,351 sales and the current 126500 3,230, 121 apart, with the same 8.4% one-year rise in price estimate. The 126500's market price is €3,799 higher, at €27,773 against €23,974, and it sits 71% above its recorded list price; the 116500 is shown without a list-price comparison.
How far below list price does the two-tone Daytona 126503 trade?
In our August 2026 snapshot, the 126503 had an estimated market price of €22,048 against a recorded list price of €23,650, approximately 7% below list. The dataset establishes the price gap but does not identify its cause.
Do you offer these references?
All ten are represented in our Daytona collection, with options starting from €199. The full Rolex range covers Submariner, Datejust, GMT-Master II and Day-Date as well.
Methodology and reuse
Dataset: WatchCharts snapshot taken in August 2026, covering the 42 references in WatchCharts' Daytona collection at that time. Ranking metric: WatchCharts' twelve-month sales volume per reference. Market prices are WatchCharts price estimates in EUR under its published methodology; the one-year trend is the change in that estimate over the preceding twelve months. List prices are Rolex European list prices as recorded in the snapshot for the configurations recorded there, shown for current-production references only; for discontinued references we could not trace a final list price to a dated source and currency, so no comparison is shown. References are reported by WatchCharts at base-model level without the LN suffix; the coverage of individual historical configurations within each sales figure could not be independently verified. Sales totals by case material were calculated by us from the individual reference-level records in the same snapshot; they are not separately published WatchCharts aggregates. Figures reflect the dataset captured for this analysis and may differ from current live values. Both charts were produced by WatchesOrbit directly from this dataset. Editors and publishers may reproduce them with attribution and a link to this analysis.
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