Rolex Introduces Cosmograph Daytona 126502 in Rolesium with Enamel Dial and Grey Bezel
Watches and Wonders 2026
Rolex has opened Watches and Wonders 2026 with one of the more unexpected additions to the modern Daytona line: the Cosmograph Daytona reference 126502, a new 40mm model in what the brand calls Rolesium, pairing Oystersteel with platinum.
In the context of the contemporary series, the watch stands out not because it alters the Daytona’s core architecture, but because it introduces an unusually elaborate materials package built around a white Grand Feu enamel dial and a new anthracite-grey bezel treatment. The model also joins a very small subset of modern Daytonas fitted with a transparent caseback, highlighting its novelty and also nodding to where the brand is going with the line.
The case remains familiar in overall form and size. It measures 40mm across, is water-resistant to 100 meters, and is fitted to an Oyster bracelet with Oysterlock clasp and Easylink 5mm comfort extension. As with other recent Daytonas, the construction is based on the current-generation Oyster case, but here the steel middle case is paired with platinum elements, specifically at the bezel ring and caseback ring, giving the watch its Rolesium designation.
The dial is the main story. Rolex has equipped the watch with a white Grand Feu enamel dial, a notable development for a modern production Daytona and one that gives the model a markedly different visual character from the standard lacquered or metallic executions elsewhere in the line. The watch features a white Grand Feu enamel dial with applied white-gold hour markers and Chromalight luminous material. The overall effect is cleaner and more monochromatic than the conventional “panda” formula that has defined many recent steel Daytonas.
The bezel also appears to mark a meaningful technical departure. Rather than the standard black Cerachrom insert associated with the steel Daytona, Rolex has gone with an anthracite-grey bezel featuring a more metallic look. The watch is fitted with an anthracite Cerachrom bezel with tachymeter scale rendered in a metallic tone, with engraved markings filled via PVD. The result is a bezel that looks visually closer to some historic steel-bezel Daytonas while still fitting within Rolex’s modern Cerachrom framework.
Inside is Rolex’s caliber 4131, the automatic chronograph movement introduced with the current Daytona generation in 2023. The movement offers a 72-hour power reserve, operates at 28,800 vph, and incorporates the Chronergy escapement, blue Parachrom hairspring, and Paraflex shock absorbers. As with other recent Rolex releases, it carries the Superlative Chronometer designation, meaning COSC certification followed by Rolex’s own post-casing tests to a precision standard of −2/+2 seconds per day.
Pricing is likely to be one of the most discussed aspects of the release. The Daytona 126502 is priced at $57,800 and is described as off-catalog, placing it far above the standard Oystersteel Daytona reference 126500LN, which Rolex lists at $16,900. That figure puts the new watch into a very different part of the Daytona conversation, one where the value proposition rests less on metal weight than on the unusual dial, bezel execution, and limited-positioning feel of the overall package.
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