Eye of the tiger but in white gold? Rolex Daytona 116589TBR
Rolex Daytona “Eye Of The Tiger” 116589TBR
Those of you who follow the channel (and I salute you) know that I’m not usually short of a good adjective whether thats beautiful, spectacular, and on occasion, weird.
One I’m pretty sure I’ve never used before is “astonishing” and, applying that to a bejewelled and bedazzled Daytona has not only surprised me, but given me the deep suspicion that viewers may decide that I’ve gone off the rails at this point.
Folks, I have not. Let me explain why.
This is the Rolex Daytona reference 116589TBR, also known as the “Eye of the Tiger”
It’s an off-catalogue brute that showcases an array of 36 flawless trapeze cut diamonds around the bezel, 8 diamond hour markers, and to top things off, 243 diamonds invisibly set into a frame that snakes organically over the dial with deep black lacquer filling the void space to create an effect similar to the dappling of a tigers coat.
There is quite literally no other dial like it, certainly in the Rolex line-up, but I haven’t seen much that comes close anywhere else either.
This is Cartier level mastery of jewels, and it is astonishing to see in the metal.
It really does cement my opinion that when Rolex put their mind to mixing classic sports with sploosh luxury, they are unbeatable.
I’m not even going to do my usual preface of some people like gem-set and others don’t because some things just don’t deserve the neutral treatment.
It is an absolute masterpiece.
It’s not for everybody, but neither is the Mona Lisa.
This white gold model was released in 2021 following on from the 2019 launched yellow gold variant.
I prefer the white, as despite being about as intricate as it gets, the white metal serves to turn it down a notch and I generally prefer cooler colour schemes.
Beyond the dial, this Daytona is just as capable as any other.
40mm case with triplock crown and screw down pushers ensuring 100m water resistance.
Lumed hands and unadorned subdials keep it legible, and there are applied arabic markers replacing the diamonds at 15, 30 and 45 which is a really nice touch, as is the red Daytona text which is the only dash of colour on the watch.
On the subject of touches, mounting this on Oysterflex - genuis.
It keeps it sporty and ultra comfortable thanks to its vented gills next to the wrist, while the plain matte black of the bracelet (and it *is* a bracelet due to its titanium blades) really works well to frame the dial without detracting from it by offering any additional fuss a la polished centre links.
An ornate dial needs a spartan strap to stop it tripping over the edge from gorgeus to gaudy, and the Oysterflex does exactly that.
Behind the dial, the venerable Rolex calibre 4130 is running the show and providing a 72 hour power reserve and superlative timekeeping of +2/-2 seconds per day.
Cal 4130 is an integrated columnwheel chronograph with vertical clutch, and is widely considered to be one of the greatest chrono movements of all time - in short - its a cracker.
Gem set off catalogue pieces like this are quite possibly the most interesting element of Rolex production.
Yes, they make some of the most robust and recognisable sports watches in the world, but, and lets face it, evolution not revolution is not the most creative of outlets.
Off catalogue lets the brand and its designers and gemsetters really let their hair down and flex their talents to a small pool of “favoured” clients, which is absolutely no bad thing, in fact, as far as this particular watch is concerned, its a very GOOD thing, because to individual taste or not, it is phenomenal.