Rolex Daytona 126500LN: Which Dial, What Changed and What to Pay in the Gulf

Which Dials Does Rolex Offer on the 126500LN in 2026?

Rolex makes the 126500LN with two dials in 2026, and both carry the same US retail price of $16,900. The 126500LN-0001 has a white lacquer dial framed by black counter rings; the 126500LN-0002 has a black dial with steel counter rings. Case, bezel, bracelet and movement are identical on the two.

The model number is the only reliable way to tell the two apart on paper. A guarantee card, a listing or a dealer invoice reading M126500LN-0001 describes the white dial; M126500LN-0002 describes the black one. The same order applied to the 116500LN, where -0001 was white and -0002 black.

The case is a 40mm Oyster in Oystersteel, waterproof to 100 metres, with a Triplock winding crown and screw-down chronograph pushers. The monobloc bezel is black Cerachrom ceramic with a moulded tachymetric scale, its numerals and graduations coated with a thin layer of platinum by PVD. The crystal is sapphire with an anti-reflective coating.

The Oyster bracelet uses three-piece solid links and closes with an Oysterlock folding safety clasp. Its Easylink comfort extension adjusts the length by about 5mm without tools. The hands and hour markers carry a Chromalight display with long-lasting blue luminescence.

What Changed Between the 116500LN and the 126500LN?

Rolex changed the movement, the case profile, the bezel edge and the dial graphics, and kept the 40mm diameter, the 100-metre rating and the black Cerachrom bezel. The update came in 2023, when Rolex revised the entire Cosmograph Daytona range for the 60th anniversary of the model. The 116500LN had brought the Cerachrom bezel to the steel Daytona for the first time in 2016.

Calibre 4131 is an evolution of calibre 4130. It adds the patented Chronergy escapement in nickel-phosphorus, resistant to strong magnetic fields, and a chronograph built with fewer components than before, engaged by a column wheel and vertical clutch. The bridges carry Rolex Côtes de Genève, which adds a slight polished groove between each band, and the oscillating weight is cut out and mounted on an optimised ball bearing.

The visible change sits at the bezel. On every 2023 Daytona with a Cerachrom bezel, Rolex edges the ceramic with a thin band of the same metal as the middle case, here Oystersteel. Rolex also redesigned the case so that light catches the lugs and case sides, and gave the dial a new graphic balance, with colours that sharpen the contrast between the dial and the counters or their rings.

What Does a 126500LN Cost Delivered to Riyadh or Dubai?

At its US retail price of $16,900, a 126500LN costs about $20,407 (SAR 76,525) delivered to Riyadh and about $18,632 (AED 68,427) delivered to Dubai, before shipping and clearance fees. Saudi Arabia adds 5 percent customs duty on the CIF value, $845, then 15 percent import VAT on the duty-inclusive value, $2,662: about 20.75 percent in total. The UAE charges 5 percent duty and 5 percent VAT on the same basis, about 10.25 percent.

Both figures assume the watch is valued at retail. Saudi and UAE customs calculate on the CIF value, which includes freight and insurance to the point of entry, so a declared purchase price above retail raises the duty and VAT in proportion. A watch that has already cleared customs in one GCC state moves to another without a second customs duty under the GCC customs union.

Pre-owned prices at The Luxury Closet already include duties and taxes for GCC delivery, so the listed figure is the delivered figure. The gap between that figure and the landed retail cost above is the secondary-market premium for having the watch now, not an import cost. To run the numbers for a different purchase price, use the landed cost calculator in our guide to buying in Saudi Arabia, which also lists the documents Saudi customs asks for.

What Should You Pay for a Pre-Owned 126500LN?

The price of a pre-owned 126500LN moves with three things: condition, whether the box and guarantee card are present, and the dial. The finder below lists every 126500LN and 116500LN The Luxury Closet currently offers, with prices in dollars, riyals and dirhams that include duties and taxes for GCC delivery. It is refreshed weekly from the platform’s product feed.

The Luxury Closet grades each watch on four levels. Pristine means unused; Excellent means excellent condition, sometimes with the original protective wrapping; Good means well cared for with limited use; Fair means well maintained with minor scratches. Each listing adds notes on specific marks, so compare pieces within the same grade and the same set before comparing prices.

The set matters because of the Rolex guarantee. Rolex gives new watches a five-year international guarantee, valid only when the card has been completed and dated by an Official Rolex Jeweler at the time of purchase and is presented with the watch. A 126500LN with its card shows the purchase date, and with it how much of the five years remains.

For market prices over time, WatchCharts tracks the white 126500LN-0001 and both dials of the 116500LN. The current index values for those references are in the market tables of our Rolex collector’s guide, updated each quarter.

What Should You Check Before Buying a 126500LN?

Start with the model number, then the bezel edge, then the guarantee card. All three can be checked without opening the watch.

• Model number and dial. M126500LN-0001 must have the white dial with black counter rings, M126500LN-0002 the black dial with steel counter rings. A card that reads one and a watch that shows the other needs an explanation from the seller.
• Bezel edge. The thin band of Oystersteel around the Cerachrom bezel arrived with the 2023 generation. A watch sold as a 126500LN should have it.
• Guarantee card. Completed and dated by an Official Rolex Jeweler, with the model number matching the watch. Without it, the Rolex guarantee does not apply.
• Case back and movement. The steel 126500LN has a solid case back, screwed down with a special tool that gives only Rolex watchmakers access to calibre 4131. Confirming the movement means a visit to an Official Rolex Service Center.
• Bracelet. Oyster bracelet with Oysterlock folding safety clasp and Easylink extension, as specified by Rolex for this reference.

Serial numbers, case finishing and the wider method for verifying a pre-owned watch are covered in our authentication guide.

126500LN or 116500LN: Which Should a Gulf Collector Buy?

Choose the 126500LN for calibre 4131, the 2023 case and a Rolex guarantee that is still running on any card, since the reference dates from 2023; choose the 116500LN if the price gap justifies an older calibre on an otherwise very similar watch. Both are 40mm Oystersteel Daytonas with a black Cerachrom bezel and a white or black dial. The guarantee is the clearest practical difference: a 116500LN card dated before November 2021 has already run its five years.

DialEast makes no prediction about the future value of either reference. Index values for both are in the hub tables linked above, and live pre-owned prices are in the finder. Collectors drawn to the origins of the line are looking at a different market altogether, the ref. 6239 of 1963, whose story is told in our Paul Newman Daytona.

More Rolex Collections and Maisons

Rolex collections

• Rolex Daytona Guide
• Rolex Submariner Guide
• Rolex Sea-Dweller Guide
• Rolex Deepsea Guide
• Rolex GMT-Master II Guide
• Rolex Explorer Guide
• Rolex Explorer II Guide
• Rolex Air-King Guide
• Rolex Yacht-Master Guide
• Rolex Yacht-Master II Guide
• Rolex Day-Date Guide
• Rolex Sky-Dweller Guide
• Rolex Land-Dweller Guide
• Rolex Datejust Guide
• Rolex Lady-Datejust Guide
• Rolex Oyster Perpetual Guide
• Rolex 1908 Guide
• Rolex Padellone Guide

Other maisons

• Patek Philippe Guide
• Audemars Piguet Guide
• Richard Mille Guide
• Vacheron Constantin Guide
• Breguet Guide
• A. Lange and Söhne
• Jaeger-LeCoultre Guide
• IWC Schaffhausen Guide
• Cartier Guide

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between the Rolex 126500LN-0001 and 126500LN-0002?

The dial is the only difference: the 126500LN-0001 has a white dial with black counter rings, and the 126500LN-0002 a black dial with steel counter rings. Both have the same 40mm Oystersteel case, black Cerachrom bezel, Oyster bracelet and calibre 4131. Rolex lists both at $16,900 in the United States.

How much is the Rolex Daytona 126500LN at retail?

Rolex lists the 126500LN at $16,900 on rolex.com in the United States, about SAR 63,375 at 3.75, for either dial. DialEast uses the US price because it is the one Rolex publishes online for this reference.

What changed from the Daytona 116500LN to the 126500LN?

The 126500LN replaced the 116500LN in 2023 with calibre 4131 in place of calibre 4130, a redesigned Oyster case, a thin Oystersteel band around the Cerachrom bezel and revised dial graphics. The 40mm diameter, the 100-metre water resistance and the black Cerachrom bezel stayed. The 116500LN was made from 2016 to 2023.

Which movement is in the Rolex Daytona 126500LN?

The 126500LN uses calibre 4131, a self-winding chronograph movement developed and manufactured by Rolex and introduced in 2023. It has the Chronergy escapement, a blue Parachrom hairspring, Paraflex shock absorbers and about 72 hours of power reserve. Rolex certifies it as a Superlative Chronometer at minus 2 to plus 2 seconds per day.

How much does a Rolex Daytona 126500LN cost delivered to Riyadh?

On the US retail price of $16,900, Saudi customs duty and import VAT bring a 126500LN to about $20,407, or SAR 76,525, before shipping and clearance fees. The combined rate is about 20.75 percent of the CIF value. Pre-owned prices at The Luxury Closet already include duties and taxes for GCC delivery.

Which papers should come with a pre-owned 126500LN?

A pre-owned 126500LN should come with its Rolex guarantee card, completed and dated by an Official Rolex Jeweler and showing a model number that matches the dial. The five-year international guarantee is valid only when that card is presented with the watch. The original box and the green Superlative Chronometer seal complete the set.

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