Rolex Daytona Le Mans Yellow Gold: The Hottest “Secret” Rolex of 2024
One of the most memorable gold Rolex releases in recent years was 2023’s white gold Le Mans Daytona, celebrating the famous racetrack’s 100th anniversary. Featuring a 24-hour totalizer instead of the Daytona’s typical 12-hour one, and the infamous “Paul Newman” subdial typeface, the Le Mans Daytona was also special because of its exhibition caseback–something Rolex had previously only put on the platinum Daytona and Cellini Prince. For 2024, Rolex quietly replaced it with an otherwise identical yellow gold Le Mans Daytona, and it’s one of the hottest watches of the year.
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When the 2023 Rolex Le Mans Daytona came out, Rolex proudly released copious amounts of press imagery. But in 2024, the yellow gold Le Mans Daytona was treated more like a “secret” off-catalog Rolex like the Icy Coke GMT or the newest Rainbow Daytona. The yellow gold Le Mans is far less common than the white gold one and thus sells for about 1.5x more. In fact the yellow gold Daytona Le Mans is one of the rarest Rolex watches released in recent history, and it goes for well over $300,000 (roughly 6x list price).
Yellow Gold Le Mans Daytona Specs
| Model Name | Rolex Cosmograph Daytona “Le Mans” |
| Reference Number | 126528LN |
| Year Released | 2024 |
| Case Diameter | 40mm |
| Case Thickness | 12mm |
| Lug-to-Lug | 47mm |
| Case Material | Yellow gold |
| Movement Caliber | Rolex Calibre 4132 (Automatic, 8 beats per second) |
| Water Resistance | 100 meters |
| Power Reserve | Approximately 72 hours |
| Bracelet | Yellow gold Oyster bracelet |
| Special Features | Cerachrom bezel insert with red “100,” 24-hour chrono totalizer, exhibition caseback, exotic subdial typeface |
| Market Price (Oct. 2024) | ~$340,000 |
On the Wrist
It’s a subtle touch, but the subdial aesthetic borrowed from the Paul Newman Daytona dial gives the Le Mans Daytona a sportier look than other Daytonas. Plus, Rolex Daytona models with solid gold bracelets typically have solid gold bezels. The black cerachrom bezel insert on the Le Mans Daytonas really pops on the wrist.
At its list price of about $50,000, the yellow gold Le Mans Daytona is a spectacular watch. At its market price around $340,000, though, I’d be likely to choose something insane from one of the world’s most expensive watch brands like a quadruple tourbillon Greubel Forsey. But if you want to scratch the yellow gold Le Mans Daytona itch, well, the market is the market.
The Movement
Rolex often catches flak for having supposed poor finishing on its movements, and indeed movement finishing isn’t their specialty. Rolex is nowhere near A. Lange & Söhne, for example, but in reality their finishing is totally decent. And given that Calibre 4132 is visible through an exhibition caseback, they stepped up their finishing more than usual. Not bad! Plus, it’s already a vertical clutch, column wheel chronograph movement guaranteed to run within +2/-2 seconds per day. It has all the latest Rolex technology like a Chronergy escapement and Parachrom hairspring to maximize power reserve (72 hours) and magnetic resistance. Is the Daytona a hyped watch? Yes, extremely. But those who claim it’s “all hype” are, I think, underestimating just how good the Rolex Daytona movement is.
The 4132 movement in the yellow gold Le Mans Daytona is the same as the one in the white gold version from a year earlier, featuring a 24-hour chronograph hours totalizer instead of the standard 12-hour scale. This, as you might have guessed, is a nod to the famous “24 Hours of Le Mans” race that has been sponsored by Rolex for decades. Chronograph watches aren’t the indispensable tool for racers that they once were, and most collectors who own these Daytonas won’t be timing laps with them. But, undoubtedly, a handful of rich dudes with Porsches will. And they’ll look good doing it.
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