Rolex Pikachu: Why I Think the Yellow Gold Daytona Earned Its Nickname

The Rolex Pikachu is the collector nickname for the Rolex Cosmograph Daytona in 18k yellow gold with a champagne dial, black chronograph sub-dials, a black Cerachrom bezel, and an Oysterflex strap. I have handled both generations, ref. 116518LN and ref. 126518LN, and among all the Rolex watches I get to work with, this one makes me grin every time.

Key Takeaways

The Pikachu nickname comes from the yellow and black color pairing of the champagne dial, black sub-dials, and black ceramic bezel, which echoes the Pokémon character.

Two references wear the name: the discontinued ref. 116518LN and the current catalog ref. 126518LN, which arrived in 2023 with the caliber 4131.

In my experience, the champagne-dial 116518LN is one of the quickest yellow gold Daytonas to find a buyer once it is listed.

Bob’s Watches sold data for the champagne-dial 116518LN averaged about $42,000 over the past two years, with recent sales climbing toward the mid $40,000s.

The current-generation 126518LN has been trading in the high $40,000s on the pre-owned market in our data.

Rolex has never used the word Pikachu; the name belongs entirely to the collector community.

I want to walk through what this watch is, how the two references differ, what I see on the wrist, and what the numbers from our own sales desk say about where the market sits today.

What Is a Rolex Pikachu?

The Rolex Pikachu is a Rolex Cosmograph Daytona in 18k yellow gold with a champagne colored dial, contrasting black sub-dials, a black Cerachrom ceramic bezel, and a black Oysterflex rubber strap. The nickname refers to the yellow and black color scheme that collectors associate with the Pokémon character Pikachu. Two references carry the name: the discontinued ref. 116518LN, produced from 2017 until 2023, and the current ref. 126518LN, introduced in 2023.

The Rolex Cosmograph Daytona is a chronograph wristwatch introduced by Rolex in 1963 and designed for motorsport timing, with a tachymeter scale on the bezel for measuring average speed. What I find funny about the Pikachu is that a watch born on the racetrack ended up with one of the most playful nicknames in the hobby. Rolex did not coin the name and never will. Collectors did, and the name stuck because it is accurate. Put the watch next to a picture of the character and you see it instantly.

I have always felt that nicknames are a sign of affection. Nobody bothers to nickname a watch they feel lukewarm about. The Pikachu joined a long line of Daytonas with pet names, and in my view it earned a spot among them within a year of its release.

Rolex Pikachu Design: What I Notice on the Wrist

The Rolex Pikachu combines a 40mm 18k yellow gold Oyster case, a black Cerachrom tachymeter bezel, a champagne sunburst dial with black sub-dials, and a black Oysterflex strap with a yellow gold Oysterlock folding clasp. The combination is loud on paper and far more wearable in person.

Case: 40mm 18k yellow gold with polished surfaces, a screw-down case back, and a 100 meter water resistance rating. The yellow gold is Rolex’s own alloy, cast in house.

Bezel: Black Cerachrom ceramic with a molded tachymeter scale, its numerals and graduations coated in a thin layer of yellow gold via PVD. The ceramic will not fade or scratch under normal wear.

Dial: Champagne colored sunburst finish with three black chronograph counters at 3, 6, and 9 o’clock, applied yellow gold hour markers, and Chromalight lume in the hands and markers.

Strap: Oysterflex, a flexible metal blade overmolded in black elastomer, secured by a yellow gold Oysterlock clasp with Rolex’s Easylink comfort extension.

When I wear this watch, the first thing I feel is how much lighter it is than a full yellow gold Daytona on an Oyster bracelet. The Oysterflex removes most of the heft, and the watch sits low and close to the wrist. What I like most is the way the black sub-dials pull your eye toward the center of the dial and keep the gold from feeling excessive. A champagne dial on its own can read as flat. Frame it with three black counters and a black bezel and the whole face snaps into focus.

The second thing I feel is confidence. Yellow gold tells people you have arrived. The black rubber strap tells them you did not take the whole thing too seriously. I like that tension, and I think it is the reason the Pikachu draws more attention than the same watch on a matching gold bracelet.

“Every Pikachu that crosses my desk gets the same reaction from the room – someone smiles first, then asks the price. I don’t know of too many other products that have that same effect.”
Carol Altieri, COO of Bob’s Watches

Ref. 116518LN vs. Ref. 126518LN: What Changed

The Rolex Pikachu exists in two generations: the ref. 116518LN, introduced in 2017 and discontinued in 2023, and the ref. 126518LN, introduced at Watches and Wonders 2023 and still in the current Rolex catalog. The two look nearly identical across a room. Up close, the differences are real, and I have a clear favorite.

The table below summarizes the changes I consider most meaningful when I compare the two side by side.

Feature | Ref. 116518LN (2017 to 2023) | Ref. 126518LN (2023 to present)
Movement | Caliber 4130 | Caliber 4131 with Chronergy escapement
Bezel | Black Cerachrom | Black Cerachrom with a yellow gold outer ring
Case and dial | Broader lugs, wider hour markers | Slimmer lugs, narrower markers, redesigned sub-dial rings

The ref. 126518LN shipped with a refined case that has slimmer lugs and a lighter profile, a thin yellow gold ring framing the outside of the ceramic bezel, and slightly narrower applied hour markers. The sub-dial rings were also redrawn, and the overall dial looks cleaner to my eye. I prefer the 126518LN for these reasons, though I will admit the earlier 116518LN has a chunkier, more old-school Daytona presence that plenty of collectors love.

Caliber 4130 vs. Caliber 4131

The Rolex caliber 4131 is a self-winding chronograph movement introduced in 2023 that replaced the caliber 4130 across the Daytona lineup. The caliber 4131 inside the ref. 126518LN uses Rolex’s Chronergy escapement, a skeletonized nickel-phosphorus escape wheel and pallet fork design that improves energy efficiency compared to the traditional Swiss lever escapement in the caliber 4130, and it carries Paraflex shock absorbers on the balance staff. Both calibers deliver a 72 hour power reserve and use a vertical clutch for the chronograph.

The caliber 4130 is no slouch. Rolex launched it in 2000 as the brand’s first in-house chronograph movement, and it ran the Daytona for 23 years with a reputation for reliability that watchmakers still respect. When I time a chronograph start on a 4130, the pusher action is crisp and the seconds hand jumps cleanly to zero on reset. The 4131 feels nearly identical in the hand, which tells me Rolex changed the parts that matter for accuracy and longevity without changing the experience you feel with your thumb.

The History Behind the Rolex Pikachu

The Rolex Pikachu traces its origins to Baselworld 2017, when Rolex introduced the ref. 116518LN alongside Everose and white gold siblings as the first Cosmograph Daytonas fitted with the Oysterflex strap. The launch of that Rolex watches is the dateable fact at the center of this watch’s story. Rolex first unveiled the Oysterflex strap in 2015 on the Everose gold Yacht-Master 40 ref. 116655, and the strap reached the Daytona two years later in 2017 with the 116518LN, 116515LN, and 116519LN references.

The black Cerachrom bezel on a Daytona has a slightly older pedigree. Rolex fitted the first ceramic Daytona bezel to the Everose gold ref. 116515LN in 2011, then brought it to the steel ref. 116500LN in 2016 and the full gold Oysterflex models in 2017. By the time the Pikachu arrived, Rolex had spent six years refining ceramic Daytona bezels, which is why the 116518LN felt fully resolved from day one.

The Rolex nickname itself appeared within the collector community shortly after launch. I cannot point to a single person who coined it, and I distrust anyone who claims they can. What I can say is that by the time the ref. 126518LN arrived in 2023, the name was already shorthand at watch meetups, in forums, and in our own showroom conversations. Rolex updated the watch; the community kept the name.

Rolex Pikachu Price: What Bob’s Watches Sold Data Shows

The Rolex Pikachu trades on the pre-owned market for roughly $37,000 to $47,000 for the discontinued ref. 116518LN and the high $40,000s for the current ref. 126518LN, according to Bob’s Watches sold data from August 2024 through August 2026. Those figures are pre-owned, secondary market numbers. Current retail for the ref. 126518LN at an authorized dealer is $42,700 .

Here is how the two generations compare in our own sales records over the past two years.

Reference | Bob’s Watches average sold price | Sold price range
Ref. 116518LN, champagne dial | Approximately $42,000 | $37,295 to $46,995
Ref. 116518LN, black dial | Approximately $41,650 | $37,495 to $44,995
Ref. 126518LN | Approximately $48,700 | $47,795 to $49,995

What stands out to me most in this data is the direction of travel. Our champagne-dial 116518LN sales in late 2024 and early 2025 closed in the low to mid $37,000s. By the second half of 2025 and into 2026, the same reference closed between roughly $42,500 and $47,000. That is a meaningful climb for a discontinued reference, and I attribute it to two things: the 126518LN’s higher pre-owned price pulling the older model up behind it, and the simple fact that the champagne and black layout is the configuration people specifically ask for.

Speed to Sell and Relative Demand

The champagne-dial ref. 116518LN is the fastest selling Pikachu configuration in Bob’s Watches data, with most examples finding a buyer within a few days of listing and several selling the same day they went live. The black-dial sibling on Oysterflex, the same watch with the colors flipped, typically took about two weeks. The current ref. 126518LN also moved quickly, generally within a week of listing.

I read that as real demand rather than noise. Buyers who want the Pikachu want the champagne dial with black counters, and they move fast when one appears. If you are shopping for one, I would not expect a listing to sit around while you think it over. I spoke about this same matter to our COO, who I think put it best.

“When a champagne-dial 116518LN goes live on our site, I’ve learned not to promise it to anyone who says they’ll decide over the weekend.”
Carol Altieri, COO of Bob’s Watches

Is the Rolex Pikachu a Good Investment?

The Rolex Pikachu is generally considered a strong value holder among modern gold Daytonas, and our data shows the discontinued 116518LN has appreciated on the pre-owned market over the past two years. I want to be careful here. No watch guarantees a profit. Performance depends on condition, whether the watch comes with its original box and papers, the production year, overall Daytona demand, and broader economic conditions. Certain references may appreciate, others may hold steady, and some can soften.

My view is that I buy watches I want to wear, and I treat any market gain as a bonus. The Pikachu happens to be a watch I want to wear that has also held value well, which is the best of both situations. That is not a promise, and I would not want anyone to read it as one.

Should You Buy the 116518LN or the 126518LN?

The ref. 126518LN is the Rolex Pikachu I would buy today if budget allows, because the caliber 4131, the slimmer case, and the gold bezel ring make it the more refined watch. The ref. 116518LN is the one I would recommend to anyone who wants the look for several thousand dollars less and does not mind a slightly heavier, broader case.

A few practical thoughts from handling both, whichever pre-owned Rolex Daytona you lean toward:

Oysterflex sizing matters. The strap comes in fixed lengths and cannot be trimmed, so confirm the correct size for your wrist before buying. The Easylink extension adds about 5mm of adjustment.

Check the bezel edges. Ceramic does not scratch, but it can chip on a hard corner. Inspect the edges at 12 and 6 o’clock under good light.

Gold shows wear. Yellow gold picks up hairline marks faster than steel. A light polish restores it, but heavy polishing over many years softens case lines. I prefer examples that have been polished sparingly or not at all.

Box and papers carry a premium. Full sets consistently close at the upper end of the ranges in our data.

The Pikachu also has a close cousin that collectors call the Ghost: the white gold Daytona ref. 126519LN with a steel-gray dial on Oysterflex. If the yellow gold feels like too much, the Ghost delivers the same case and strap in a far quieter finish. Personally, I think the Pikachu’s color is the whole point, and toning it down misses what makes the watch fun.

Rolex Pikachu Daytona: My Final Word on the Yellow Gold Favorite

The Rolex Pikachu proves that a serious watch can carry a playful name without losing an ounce of credibility. The ref. 116518LN established the formula in 2017, the ref. 126518LN sharpened it in 2023, and the collector community gave the pairing a name that has outlasted plenty of marketing campaigns. When I put one on, I feel like I am wearing the most confident Daytona Rolex makes, and I do not say that lightly.

At Bob’s Watches we see both references regularly, and the champagne-dial version in particular rarely stays in our inventory for long. Our sold data over the past two years shows the 116518LN climbing from the high $30,000s into the mid $40,000s, with the 126518LN settling in the high $40,000s. If a Pikachu is on your list, I would set up an alert, verify the strap size, and be ready to act when the right example appears.

Frequently Asked Questions
The Rolex Pikachu is a collector nickname for the Rolex Cosmograph Daytona in 18k yellow gold with a champagne dial, black sub-dials, black Cerachrom bezel, and black Oysterflex strap. The name refers to the yellow and black color scheme associated with the Pokémon character. It applies to the discontinued ref. 116518LN and the current ref. 126518LN. The Pikachu Rolex trades on the pre-owned market between roughly $37,000 and $47,000 for the ref. 116518LN, with a Bob’s Watches average sold price of about $42,000 over the past two years. The current ref. 126518LN has sold pre-owned in the high $40,000s, averaging about $48,700. The Rolex Pikachu ref. 116518LN was discontinued in 2023 when Rolex updated the Daytona lineup. The ref. 126518LN replaced it that same year and remains in the current Rolex catalog with the caliber 4131 and a refined case. The Pikachu configuration itself is still in production. The Rolex Pikachu ref. 126518LN uses the Rolex caliber 4131, a self-winding chronograph movement with a Chronergy escapement, Paraflex shock absorbers, and a 72 hour power reserve. The earlier ref. 116518LN uses the caliber 4130, Rolex’s first in-house chronograph movement, launched in 2000 with the same 72 hour power reserve.