Fratello’s “Our Favorite Modern Rolex Daytonas” episode shares personal picks from Nacho, RJ, and Lex—not an objective ranking or a complete list of their favorites. The companion article reveals one choice from each contributor: a green-dial gold Daytona, a turquoise-dial yellow-gold model, and a white-dial steel Daytona.
What Fratello means by “modern”
Fratello uses “modern” as an editorial boundary for this episode: Rolex chronographs introduced, available at retail, or present in the catalog from 2000 onward. The scope excludes hand-winding, Zenith-powered, and pre-Daytona versions of the chronograph. It is not a universal horological definition. Fratello’s companion article says each of the three participants selected three favorites, but publishes only one pick per person.
The three Daytona references named in the article
| Contributor | Reference | What Fratello says about the pick |
|---|---|---|
| RJ | 126508-0008 | Gold Daytona with a green dial; one of RJ’s three selections. |
| Lex | 126518LN-0014 | Yellow-gold Daytona with a turquoise lacquer dial, tied by Fratello to its debut at Watches and Wonders in 2025. Lex would have preferred natural stone but still included it among the picks. |
| Nacho | 126500LN-0001 | Current steel Daytona with a white dial. Nacho favors the steel ring around the bezel for its more retro look. |
These are examples from the participants’ lists, not all nine selections. Fratello directs readers to the episode for the rest; the companion article does not establish a consensus winner.
Why the bezel divides the contributors
The article highlights a styling difference between the current steel Daytona and the previous generation: the current model has a steel ring around the bezel, while the earlier generation used a ceramic bezel. Nacho prefers the current steel detail for its retro character; RJ and Lex favor the prior generation’s ceramic bezel. The episode’s contrast is a matter of taste, not a performance judgment.
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Episode date and listening details
The Fratello article and Apple Podcasts listing give June 5, 2025 as the publication date; the Fratello YouTube listing shows June 4, 2025. Apple Podcasts lists the episode at 32 minutes. These are platform listing details, so the dates differ by platform.
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts or watch it on YouTube. For the companion article’s descriptions of the three disclosed references, see Fratello’s article.
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What the episode does—and does not—settle
The named picks show how differently the contributors approach a modern Daytona: precious-metal color and dial choice matter to RJ and Lex, while Nacho’s disclosed preference centers on the steel model’s bezel styling. The material does not provide a full ranking, market valuation, current stock information, or a measured comparison of performance. Treat “favorite” as each contributor’s personal preference.
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