33 Rolex An extremely fine, attractive and rare, Daytona automatic wristwatch in yellow gold, with mother-of-pearl dial, diamond-set indexes and cognac sapphire-set bezel, guarantee and presentation box, reference 116578SACO.

Estimate: € 120.000 –⁠ 240.000

While gem-set watches may once have elicited raised eyebrows from purists, today’s seasoned connoisseurs know better: these are not mere ornaments, but expressions of artistic audacity and craftsmanship at its highest order. Few watches encapsulate this as vividly as the Rolex Cosmograph Daytona reference 116578SACO, a creation that blends elegance, exuberance, and rarity in one sublime composition. Unveiled in 2019, this striking model is housed in yellow gold and boasts a radiant mother-of-pearl dial set with diamond indexes. Yet it is the bezel—adorned with baguette-cut cognac sapphires that immediately arrests the gaze. Their fiery hue, evocative of a blazing sunset, dances against the iridescent calm of the dial in a juxtaposition that feels both contemporary and timeless. It’s not simply decorative—it’s emotive. While not the first Daytona to feature such a dramatic bezel, the original “Leopard” reference 116598 SACO pioneered the look in 2004, this later evolution tempers the wild with the refined. It is a tribute to Rolex’s long-standing and underappreciated legacy in haute joaillerie, which began as early as the mid-1980s with the legendary references 6269 and 6270. Over the decades, Rolex has not merely adopted colored gemstones—they’ve elevated them, shaping rubies, emeralds, and sapphires into harmonious symphonies of color and light. The gem-setting process is painstaking: each stone meticulously cut and calibrated, each one selected for exact hue, saturation, and clarity. What results is nothing short of mechanical art. This particular example, dating to 2019, is preserved in superb “like new” condition and arrives complete with its original accessories. Scarce by nature and produced in exceedingly limited quantities, it is not a watch one stumbles upon, it is one that must be sought. And now, with collectors increasingly attuned to the allure of gem-set Daytonas, this once-overlooked category is enjoying the recognition it so richly deserves. For the charismatic collector with an eye for the extraordinary, this is more than a timepiece—it is a celebration of Rolex’s boundary-pushing spirit and an emblem of contemporary collecting culture.