Rolex Daytona “Arolla” Watch

This new one-off goes in a different direction. Inspired by the Arolla glacier, a 4km long glacier in Switzerland’s canton of Valais. Dubbed the “Arolla Project”, it’s based on a white gold Rolex Daytona (ref. 116500) and comes equipped with the Rolex 4130 calibre, although that has been transformed entirely along with the rest of the piece.

The most obvious change is the blueness of it all. The Oysterflex rubber strap has been given a makeover with a semi-translucent blue showing off the design of the metal blade inside. The tachymeter bezel has been removed and replaced with a bezel that’s set with sapphires. The dial has now been made translucent and tinted blue to match the strap and bezel. This new dial reveals the Rolex calibre, which has been painstakingly skeletonised, sandblasted and bevelled by hand. A custom rotor with an X motif has been added as well, and it’s visible through the sapphire crystal.