Rolex Daytona John Mayer: Gold, Green, and Impossible to Miss

The Rolex Daytona is one of the most recognized and respected chronographs in the world. Within that lineup, few modern pieces have generated as much hype as the Rolex Daytona “John Mayer.”

With its bold green dial and yellow gold case, this watch quickly became one of the most talked about Daytonas of the modern era. But the real reason behind the hype goes much deeper.

The Rolex Cosmograph Daytona was first introduced in 1963. Rolex designed the watch with professional race car drivers in mind, which is why it features a tachymeter bezel for measuring speed.

In 1988, Rolex introduced the first automatic Daytona powered by the Zenith-based caliber 4030. Then in 2000, Rolex made another major move by launching the in-house caliber 4130, which still serves as the foundation for modern Daytona models today.

Over the decades, the Daytona has evolved from a niche tool watch into one of the most respected luxury sports watches in the world.

The model most people call the John Mayer Daytona is reference 116508, featuring a green dial in 18k yellow gold. Rolex released this configuration in 2016 as part of the standard Daytona lineup. At the time, it flew largely under the radar. What looked like just another gold Daytona was quietly on its way to becoming one of the most sought after modern Rolex references on the market.