As something of an oddity from a company that prided itself on owning the patent on the modern automatic winding system, up until 1988, the perfect replica Rolex Daytona had always been a manually wound chronograph. In fact, at this point, Swiss made fake Rolex was almost 20 years behind in the chronograph game, something that makes more sense when you notice those were also the first 20 years of mass-produced quartz watches that changed the watchmaking landscape. Before wanting to invest in making a movement that had literally helped bankrupt copy watch brands in the past, they went hunting for the perfect caliber.
This is where the story of Charles Vermot and the Zenith El Primero meet best 1:1 replica Rolex in what is probably the greatest story about watchmaking’s mechanical revival. If you have a moment to read about it or watch a video, you will not be disappointed. The short version is that the first automatic chronograph movement turned out to be the best option, and thanks to the efforts of one man, Zenith would produce the chronograph movement for the luxury fake Rolex Daytona.
Now for the twist. This reference 16520 Daytona does not rely on a Zenith movement. In the final two years of production, Swiss movement replica Rolex started to produce transitional Daytonas that featured Rolex’s in-house caliber 4030, which, along with its generational upgrade, the 4130, would go on to power all high quality fake Rolex Daytonas after 1999. This is one of those odd overlaps that allow you to enjoy a special recipe, the neo-vintage case and look of a model introduced in 1988 with a thoroughly modern Rolex inside.
