For a brand that thrives on buzz, Rolex did something uncharacteristically hush-hush at Watches & Wonders 2025. It quietly slipped seven new Daytona models onto its website—no press release, no display, not even a reel-worthy wrist tease at their booth. But nestled among the stealth drops was a yellow-gold Cosmograph Daytona with a green dial that felt oddly familiar. A deja vu in precious metal. Was Rolex bringing back the Mayer?
The Mayer Effect
Sort of. The new reference 126508-0008 isn’t a remake of the now-discontinued 116508-0013—popularly crowned the ‘John Mayer Daytona’—but it carries unmistakable echoes. Full 18k yellow gold? Check. Green dial? Check. And a cult legacy to live up to? Very much check.
In a 2019 Hodinkee video titled Talking Watches 2 With John Mayer—now pushing 6 million views, making it one of the most viral pieces of watch content ever made—Mayer called the watch a “sleeper hit” and boldly declared it the future. That moment lit the fuse. Prices shot past $38,000 within months. By 2022, it had peaked at over $125,000 on the secondary market. Federer wore it. So did Drake and McGregor. The once-overlooked reference had transformed into one of the most desirable modern Daytonas ever made. And when Rolex discontinued it in 2023? Pandemonium.
The 2025 reference takes cues from Mayer’s muse but sharpens the edges. The green is lighter—less lustrous olive, more matte moss. The subdials now sport gold tones that stand out more against the dial. The indices are slimmer, the case slightly reworked, and everything about the dial layout feels cleaner, more resolved. If the Mayer was baroque rock, this is post-modern jazz. Inside ticks the Calibre 4131, Rolex’s newer-generation chronograph movement introduced in 2023. It refines energy efficiency, reduces component count, and subtly enhances performance. There’s also a new anti-magnetic Chronergy escapement and updated bridge finishing. In short, this watch might look backward, but it beats with the future.
Collectors Are Already Calling It
Retailing at €48,400 (~₹43.5 lakh), it didn’t take long for the market to speak. Within weeks, listings hit Chrono24 asking between $199,000 and $207,000 (~₹1.66–1.73 crore) across Europe and the US. That’s over four times retail—and higher than peak Mayer prices ever hit. In the language of collectors, this isn’t just a nod to history. It’s a statement. The Mayer effect is back in full swing; even if the man himself is missing.
There's more in store, too. Rolex didn’t stop at green. It also revived three meteorite dial Daytonas—now with the updated ceramic bezels and metal surrounds—in yellow, white, and Everose gold on Oysterflex bracelets. A white gold blue-dial Daytona made a welcome return, as did a chocolate brown dial option for Everose gold, now available on both bracelet and rubber strap. All of them carry Rolex’s latest refinements from the 1265xx update cycle: thinner indices, upgraded movements, subtle design touches. But it’s the green one—quiet, calculated, and already climbing secondary charts—that tells the bigger story.
