Although all Rolex Submariner 6536 replica watches were originally equipped with gold-plated “gilt” hour and minute hands, there are surprising variations on the hands of the 6536. Furthermore, when Rolex created the Submariner 6536, the model’s now-iconic “Mercedes” hands had replaced the original “pencil” style. However, it wasn’t until the production of the Model 6536 that its Mercedes-style hour hand took on the appearance we know today.
Similar to the early red depth dials, some of the earliest examples of the Submariner 6536/8 and Submariner 6536-1 featured a “long-neck” hour hand that had a significantly longer section connecting the “Mercedes” logo to the base of the hand (similar to the Mercedes hour hand style on the older Submariner 6200). In addition, when Rolex updated the case for the reference 6536-1, the mute and seconds hands grew slightly to better accommodate the slightly different dial diameter.
Finally, the second hand itself has undergone some minor updates throughout the production of the Submariner 6536. In addition to the continued reduction in the size of the luminous zone, the finish of the hands has also changed. Some of the earliest examples had white painted seconds hands, while those produced near the end of the Submariner 6536’s production cycle would have a gold-plated finish to match the rest of the hands.
Like the dial and hands, the bezel inserts mounted on the Rolex Submariner replica watches come in a range of variations. While they are both made of black anodized aluminum and have a 60-minute scale, they can be found with or without individual minute markers for the first 15 minutes, as well as with or without the famous inverted red triangle at the zero markers.
The earliest versions originally came with an all-black “No-Hash” bezel insert, which largely followed the design of the earliest Submariner bezels and lacked separate minute markers for the first 15 minutes. From here, red triangles are added to the zero markers, although it is not until near the end of the production cycle of reference 6536 that the first 15 minutes of individual hash values are added to the bezel’s scale. With this in mind, not all of these later hash marks have inverted red triangles on the bezel, and you will sometimes encounter vintage fake Rolex Submariner 6536 bezels without red triangles.

The Cosmograph Daytona is an interesting phenomenon in the watch industry. Few timepieces have been designed to be so versatile and popular across a variety of styles, demographics, occasions, and even budgets. Not many people really use Rolex’s popular chronograph as a stopwatch anymore, but the dial-in-dial design of this classic sports watch has made it an icon of luxury and success for decades, and in 2021, Rolex returns to the classic luxury execution of the Daytona with the meteorite dial.
Meteorite dials are not new at Rolex or in the watch industry in general, but they seem to have a hard time losing their appeal. In my opinion, the reasons for this are twofold. First, the organic crystalline metallic aesthetic of meteorites is visually appealing and manly at the same time. Objects of rare or precious materials are a cornerstone of the luxury watch segment, and the idea of a watch dial made from a fallen space rock has a lot of intellectual and emotional appeal to many consumers.
Currently, Rolex only pairs meteorite dials with precious metal cases. Accordingly, both replica Rolex Daytona watches are gold, with reference number 116519LN in 18K white gold and reference number 116508 in 18K yellow gold. Although not pictured in this article, in 2021 Rolex also offers this model 116505 in 18k Everose gold with a “meteorite and black” dial.
Rolex continues to produce a 40mm wide case that is water-resistant to 100 meters and uses the classic style screw-down chronograph pushers along with the crown. Ironically, outside of modern materials and fads, the Daytona is very much a vintage chronograph in many ways. That is, some of its quirky vintage elements (like the pushers) are a core part of the design DNA that many consumers associate with the best replica watches line. In that sense, Rolex may very well want to update the Daytona in various ways, but the good business sense seems to dictate that Rolex shouldn’t undermine a successful formula too much.
Inside the Rolex Daytona is the aging Rolex Manufacture 4130 automatic chronograph movement. Like all other Rolex movements, the mechanism is a “Super Chronometer”, which means it is COSC chronometer-certified and undergoes additional precision and performance tests at Rolex.
Rolex’s all-gold Daytona watch costs even a bit more than the Rolex Day-Date “President” watch – probably because of its more complex movement. Still, in the scheme of gold watches, the Daytona is a “decent value” compared to many other offerings in the luxury watch market.