The UK Best Replica Rolex Daytona Ref. 126508 “John Mayer 2.0” Watches For Sale

The Rolex Daytona remains undefeated. When Rolex launched the Land-Dweller at Watches and Wonders this year with a brand-new caliber, it stole the show, not just for the crown but across all brands. But to give you a little peek behind the curtain of insights we get at Hodinkee, a simple story I wrote about eight new (or re-launched) Swiss made Rolex Daytona replica watches got more eyeballs than almost any other story we published that week, aside from the Land-Dweller.

An anecdote like that shows how hot the Daytona still is, even with only minor tweaks to the models. Only one model – the yellow gold with turquoise lacquer dial and oysterflex bracelet – was more than a refresh. But there was a big green elephant in the room that we knew we’d have to look at. Back for an encore, the “John Mayer” has returned with a fresh new look.

It’s a full circle moment for Hodinkee with the return of this yellow-gold, green-dialed Daytona, ref. 126508. About six years ago, Ben sat down with a gentleman named John Mayer for a little follow-up discussion about his journey collecting watches, and Mayer asked, “How does nobody notice this?” That should have been (and eventually was) the appropriate response from collectors when looking at an all-gold, on-bracelet, colored dial Daytona. The high quality Rolex fake watches, ref. 116508, released in 2016, became known as the “John Mayer Daytona” and had a long run before being discontinued in 2023 (along with the white gold version with blue dial).

Well, both the yellow and white gold versions are back with a variety of updates, but while the blue dial remains visually the same, the “John Mayer 2.0” (as the internet has called it – I would have gone with “Chairman Mayer”) has gotten a more sizable update. The most substantive and useful changes are inside the case, but there’s no use arguing that the biggest change is the vibe shift of the dial. While the ref. 116508 featured a green dial with green subdials and red accents, the yellow subdials on the new ref. 126508 makes it feel much more like a watch from the late 1970s. I think that’s a significant improvement.

To understand why, we have to get into a bit of a history lesson, so if that’s not your thing, you can skip ahead to the comparison and review section further down. I won’t hold it against you (much).

A Brief History of Modern (And Neo-Vintage) Daytona Design Language

Steel Daytonas (especially the white “Panda” dial) are often a “grail” for many consumers, and I can understand why. It’s the most affordable option in the Daytona family and likely the most versatile for wearability. But I’ve got particular tastes when it comes to Daytonas. My two least favorite design elements on the modern line are the metal bezels found on yellow, white, and rose gold Daytonas with bracelet, and the contrasting “ringed” subdials you’ll find on almost every other Daytona on a metal bracelet. Both of these features (alone or together) felt a bit anachronistically neo-vintage for a modern product line featuring upgraded movements as recently as 2023. These perfect UK replica Rolex watches sit between the past and what I imagine could be a fully-fledged version of the present. Or maybe I just want a return to more of the vintage Rolex design language.

Those ringed subdials appeared on dials in 1987 (officially in 1988) with the introduction of the first automatic Daytona ref. 16520. The AAA online copy Rolex watches had undergone massive changes on multiple levels; with the El Primero-based caliber and upsized case (from 37mm to 40mm), it was the most different the watch had looked since it was named Daytona. While you could argue that those subdial rings are a nod to the sloped subdials back to the ref. 6239 and Pre-Daytona ref. 6238 before it, it’s hard for me not to associate the design with those neo-vintage 1980s models.

Then there’s the ceramic – I mean “Cerachrom” – bezel. Rolex’s proprietary material has now become a mainstay across their sports and professional models, but if I asked you which reference of Daytona got it first, a vast majority of folks might get that piece of trivia wrong. That distinction goes to the ref. 116515 in Everose, released in 2011 with a cream dial, a first black bezel for the model in 23 years. Two years later, for the 50th anniversary of Daytona, the platinum model with a brown Cerachrom bezel was born. Since then, the feature has rolled out to most of the core Daytona product line, almost all except the catalog precious metal luxury Rolex replica watches on their matching bracelets.

The other piece of context needed is the sunray-brushed dials made by Singer for some of the first automatic Daytonas in the early 1990s. These brushed dials, with their ring subdials, were made in extremely limited quantity in 1990/1991 because – it’s thought, at least – that demand was so low for such dials that they weren’t commercially viable. Instead, as the story goes, the dials were put on super clone Rolex watches for sale that were never sold but rather presented to the most very Rolex senior management, giving the watch the nickname “Chairman.” In 2021, an example sold at Christie’s for nearly $400,000. In some ways, the new ref. 126508 is the closest resemblance to those “Chairman” dials we’ve seen on a modern Rolex. We also see the blue sunburst dial show up with Arabic numerals on a later reference in a two-tone case (though you’d be excused if you forgot the ref. 116523).

So, if you’re like me and particular about the aesthetics of the Daytona, you’ve probably been eyeing the models on Oysterflex, which have Cerachrom bezels and a more traditional subdial configuration. In fact, it wasn’t the anniversary “100” or “lollipop” subdials but just the combination of black Cerachrom bezel and fully reverse panda design that made the 2023 release of the Le Mans Daytona my “perfect” modern Daytona. It was the fact that the Le Mans a distillation of everything great about Daytona and its history in a modern package and finally on a watch with a matching metal bracelet. Even without the “lollipop” subdial markers, the full “reverse panda” aesthetic felt like the most fully-formed modern Daytona design we’ve ever seen.

Tackling The New ‘John Mayer’ (Figuratively, Of Course)

When I refreshed the Rolex website at midnight in a conference room in Geneva during Watches and Wonders, the first thing that caught my attention was the new cheap 2025 replica Rolex Daytona ref. 126508 watches wasn’t just the full yellow-gold spray-coated subdials but the intense color of the green sunburst-finished dial. Most reviews (and reels) that haven’t seen the watch in person will point out that this is one of the most significant changes to the watch. They’re both not wrong and not entirely correct either. For context, look at the original (first images) and the new watch below.

Compared to the previous generation, ref. 116508, the green does seem brighter, but not nearly as shockingly so as the Rolex product page images (or renderings, most likely) which show the Rolex copy watches online in an unnatural lighting situation with no shadows or angularity to the light that would show off how light can change the look of the high-gloss sunburst effect on the dial. In shadow or soft light, the main section of the dial gets much darker, with that green color only showing up in the burst of the dial or where a patch of highlight reflects a green glowing haze. While it is different, I think that difference is more apparent due to the brightness the subdials bring, and in some instances, might even look less vibrant.

The ref. 126508 is a “five-liner” like the previous model. Rolex. Oyster Perpetual. Superlative Chronometer. Officially Certified. Cosmograph. It also features the red “Daytona” text above the 6 o’clock subdial that counts the running seconds (as did the previous). Each of the yellow gold-toned spray-coated subdials has an inner section that has its own sunburst finish starting around the post for that subdial’s hand. Around that section is now a yellow printed circle, replacing the red on the previous version, and the markers for the subdials are printed in black on a matte section of the subdial. The yellow gold hands and applied indices feature Chromalight lume.

Arguably, the most important update to the Rolex replica watches site UK is the caliber 4131 movement, a part of the generation of new vertical clutch column wheel movements that have been powering the collection since 2023 and are visible through the display caseback of the platinum Daytona (the Le Mans has the caliber 4132). Part of the discontinuation of the original “John Mayer” was due to the discontinuation of the 4130 movement inside. Rolex would not want to keep two versions of a movement in production at once, but they also apparently didn’t want to refresh the entire product line at once.

Running at 28,800vph with a 72-hour power reserve, the caliber 4131 features a Chronergy escapement, Paraflex shock absorbers, and optimized ball bearings, with fewer components than the 4130 before it but better finishing. You won’t see that finishing, however, because Rolex has chosen to keep the caseback closed. It’s a decision I don’t mind – Rolex movements look nice for one of the best industrially-produced products on the market, but it’s not something I need to see, and I’d rather have a caseback that I can engrave. And yet, new movements are rarely the attention-grabber, and in this case, the dial still steals the show.

If you’ve recently seen a current-generation Swiss movements fake Rolex Daytona watches in person, everything else about the watch should feel familiar. The case measures 40mm by 11.9mm with some heft from the Oyster bracelet. The bracelet features the 5mm Easy-link comfort adjustment system and safety clasp.

The final part of the equation is the price and availability. Based on my research, the ref. 116508 – the “O.G. John Mayer” – retailed at $38,700 before its discontinuation. On the secondary market, prices are around $65,000-70,000 for a full set example – almost twice retail. The new “John Mayer 2.0” is $48,400 at retail, nearly a $10,000 increase. That price is undoubtedly impacted by tariffs and the cost of gold, which has risen around 62% since 2023. But I’ve heard – anecdotally at least – that retailers are already taking far more deliveries of the new ref. 126508 than other precious metal Daytonas. Those sources say the watch will be positioned differently than watches like the new meteorite dial or turquoise lacquer dial releases (the former being treated closer to a gem-set model by some retailers).

The ref. 126508 plays significantly better in person than in photos or Rolex’s renderings. Fantastic, in fact. Sure, it’s not exactly the version of a modern perfect wholesale Rolex Daytona replica watches that I would have envisioned – in yellow gold with a black sunburst dial, full yellow gold subdials (or invert the two), and a black Cerachrom bezel. You could say I’ve been looking for a yellow gold ref. 6263. That’s not what we got, but maybe we got something nearly as good or even better — a newer movement, better construction, and a punch of extra color – than Rolex would have done in the 1980s. It’s anything but subtle, but since when is that what you’re looking for in a gold Rolex?

I mentioned earlier that this is a full-circle moment for Hodinkee. It’s also one for me. I grew up a block from Lambeau Field, where the Green Bay Packers play, so my nostalgia for green and gold is really high. The jeweler that my great-grandparents, grandparents, and parents shopped with for decades, Rummele’s Jewelers, reportedly sold one of, if not the last, of the original John Mayers to someone associated with the Packers. So despite the price that I can’t afford, as a team owner and season ticket holder, my heart wants to call them up and at least put my name down for the most cheesehead of Rolexes possible. And budget aside, why not? A Packer’s UK China Rolex Daytona fake watches with papers that say “Green Bay?” It’s hard to go wrong.

Plus, in search of vintage vibes, I’ve noticed something else. Looking back at the thumbnails of the photos I took, if I squint a bit, I see ref. 6265/8 from the 1980s—distinctly different with all the color and larger size, but with a touch of vintage inspiration we haven’t seen in decades. “How does nobody notice this?” Well, John. I don’t think anyone will miss it this time.