The “Le Mans” is the Rolex Daytona reference 126529LN: an 18ct white-gold chronograph on Oysterflex with a black Cerachrom bezel and a reverse-panda “exotic” dial, released in June 2023 to mark one hundred years of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It was quietly discontinued in 2024, when a yellow-gold version, the 126528LN, took its place in the catalogue.
Why is it called the Le Mans?
Rolex has been the official timepiece of the 24 Hours of Le Mans since 2001, and it unveiled this watch during the centenary race weekend in June 2023 — one hundred years after the first running in 1923. The link is written onto the watch itself: the “100” on the tachymetric bezel is picked out in red, and the dial’s Art Deco-style counters deliberately echo the 1960s “exotic” dials collectors know as Paul Newmans. The most substantive nod to the race sits at nine o’clock. The 126529LN is the first series-production Daytona in the model’s sixty-year history to replace the 12-hour chronograph counter with a 24-hour register — exactly matching the length of the race — courtesy of the reworked calibre 4132.
References
| Reference | Years | Key spec | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 126529LN | 2023–2024 | 40mm white gold, calibre 4132, 24-hour counter, Oysterflex | Discontinued |
| 126528LN | 2024–present | 40mm yellow gold, same exotic dial in gold and black | In production |
Neither watch is a numbered limited edition, but the white-gold 126529LN spent barely a year in the catalogue — a short life by Rolex standards, and the main reason secondary asking prices sit far above the roughly £44,000 it retailed for.
Super clone availability
GrandWatchClub stocks 2 Le Mans super clones of the white-gold 126529LN, priced between £434 and £1,125. The lower figure buys the Japanese-movement build; the Swiss SuperClone at the top of the range adds a Swiss chronograph movement and closer reproduction of the exotic dial furniture, including the red centenary “100” on the bezel. Both are modelled on the full centenary dial layout, 24-hour counter at nine o’clock included, on an Oysterflex-style strap at the genuine 40mm size.