The John Mayer Daytona — Ref 116508 Green Dial
What I find interesting is how one person's genuine enthusiasm can completely shift how collectors view a piece. The 116508 was already a beautiful watch. But Mayer's love for it seemed to unlock something. People started seeing it differently. That green dial against the warmth of yellow gold... the way it catches light... the vintage racing vibe with a modern twist.
I'd love to hear from anyone who owns one or has spent time with it. What drew you to the 116508? Do you think of it as the John Mayer watch, or does it stand on its own for you? And for those who were watching this reference before Mayer made it famous... did you notice a shift in how people talked about it?
Interesting the cover photo changes from 116508 to newer version when clicked into post…
Sometimes it looks black and when light hits, it lit up.
Green is the color of the brand and Daytona models are iconic, so I love it not for the nick name but for the combination of festive colors and the dial.
I think the dial of “hulk” is the same emerald green.
I had trouble with image quality. Sorry. Never handle this beauty in the flesh.
I prefer to call it the green dial Daytona.
I love the color combo a lot .
I like the more understated watches that are somewhat different and overlooked but once they get attention like this watch and get hyped up i also loose interest tbh . Price went from decent to insanely high also .
Still like it a lot tbh
My friend has the 126508, or the 'Mayer 2' as Hodinkee calls it...
Honestly, I am more attracted by the watch per se. I don't really care about who owns or wear it. I just find that kind of details funny.
Hello dear Bill! I was lucky to get one of these watches…
Green Rolex
As beautiful as it is overexposed. Years ago a dealer told me that in seven years of production he had received almost exclusively examples in the green dial configuration, and that says a lot. Just take a look at the well-known platform Chrono24: roughly half of the 116508s currently for sale are fitted with the green dial.
And yet the reference was produced in around fifteen different dial configurations, so it’s clear that production naturally concentrated where demand was strongest.
Personally, I’d rather wait to see the production numbers that Rolex may one day release for the reference 116508. Only then will we really understand how big the boom was — not just for the green dial, which is certainly one of the most appreciated, but more broadly for Rolex watches in precious metals.
Before 2016 they were extremely rare to see; you might come across one every several years. Then, at least until the bubble burst, demand grew so much that at times they even became more sought after than the steel models.
Today the situation has shifted again. Partly due to rising retail prices, watches have lost some of their appeal and demand has cooled.
One final thought: in my opinion the new green dial isn’t as successful as the original one. Some of the contrasting details and color accents that made the earlier dial so distinctive have been lost.