Rolex · Rolex 4131

Rolex Daytona 126500LN power reserve: inside the calibre 4131

Every current Rolex Cosmograph Daytona, from the steel 126500LN to the platinum 126506, runs on the calibre 4131. Rolex rates it at about 72 hours from full, which is three days.

Updated September 2026 · Based on manufacturer specs, published reviews and watchmaker/owner reports

Watches that use the Rolex 4131

The 4131 arrived in 2023 with the fourth-generation Daytona and replaced the calibre 4130 across the range. If your Daytona's reference starts with 1265, it has a 4131 (or, in one special edition, the closely related 4132). Rolex lists it in every current Daytona, in steel, two-tone, gold and platinum.

The 4131 isn't used outside Rolex and isn't supplied to Tudor. Older Daytonas with six-digit references starting 1165, such as the 116500LN and 116520, use the 4130.

Specs at a glance

History and where it came from

The Daytona became a fully in-house chronograph in 2000, when the calibre 4130 replaced the Zenith El Primero-based calibre 4030. The 4130 was built around a column wheel and a vertical clutch, with far fewer parts than a typical chronograph and a 72-hour reserve that was unusual for an automatic chronograph at the time.

The 4131 came in 2023, the Daytona's 60th anniversary year, with the 1265xx generation. Rolex describes it as "entirely developed and produced in our workshops". It's an evolution rather than a new design. The layout, the 4 Hz beat and the 72-hour reserve carry over. What changed:

• Chronergy escapement. Rolex's more efficient escapement, already used in the calibre 3235 and other time-only movements, replaces the 4130's conventional Swiss lever escapement. Monochrome notes it's made of nickel-phosphorus, which isn't affected by magnetism.
• Fewer parts. Rolex told Fratello the 4131 uses fewer parts than the 4130. It hasn't published a figure.
• A redesigned rotor on an upgraded ball bearing, and Rolex's version of Côtes de Genève striping on the bridges.
• A display back, on some models. The platinum 126506 was the first Daytona with a sapphire case back, and the white-gold Le Mans 126529LN followed. Both show a yellow-gold rotor.

The watch around it changed too. The 2023 case is 11.9 mm thick, 0.5 mm slimmer than before, according to Fratello, and on most models the ceramic bezel insert is now framed by a thin edge of case metal.

Accuracy in the real world

Rolex rates every 4131 Daytona at -2/+2 seconds a day, tested after the movement is cased. That's the Superlative Chronometer standard, more than twice as tight as COSC's -4/+6 for the bare movement. Rolex's service network checks to the same figure, so a Daytona that drifts outside it after a few years is a reasonable thing to take back.

Two design choices help it hold that rate in daily use. The vertical clutch means starting the chronograph doesn't make the seconds hand jump or cost much amplitude, so you can use the chronograph without affecting timekeeping. And the Parachrom hairspring and nickel-phosphorus escapement shrug off the everyday magnetism from phones, laptop speakers and bag clasps that can make an ordinary steel-sprung watch suddenly gain minutes a day.

The -2/+2 figure is an average in Rolex's test positions. On the wrist, your rate will vary a little with how you wear and rest the watch. A Daytona left dial-up overnight may run slightly differently from one left crown-down, which is normal.

Reliability and servicing

The 4131 inherits one of the most proven chronograph architectures in modern watchmaking, and the changes are the kind meant to improve reliability, not add risk. There's no known systemic problem after three years on the market, though it's still a young movement.

• Warranty. New Rolex watches carry a five-year international guarantee.
• When to service. Modern Rolex movements are known for long service intervals, but the signs to watch for are the same as any chronograph: a reserve that no longer reaches three days, a rate that drifts outside -2/+2, or pushers that feel gritty. Any of those is a reason to book it in.
• Who services it. Rolex service centers and authorised retailers. Rolex restricts parts, so independent watchmakers who can service a 4131 are harder to find than for older Rolex calibres.
• Water resistance. The Daytona is rated to 100 m, but the screw-down pushers must be screwed in before it gets wet.

Quirks worth knowing

• Screw-down pushers and crown. Unscrew the pushers before timing anything and screw them back afterwards. Unscrew the crown to wind by hand.
• Pulling the crown stops the small seconds at 6 o'clock, so you can set the time to the second. There's no date, so no date-change window to worry about.
• No running seconds in the centre. The long central hand is the chronograph seconds. It's still at zero unless the chronograph is running, which confuses new owners who think the watch has stopped.
• Filling it from empty. A 72-hour mainspring holds a lot. A stopped Daytona needs a good hand wind by the crown, or a full active day on the wrist, before it will run through a weekend.
• 4131 or 4132? Only the Le Mans 126529LN has the 4132. Its hour counter reads to 24 hours instead of 12; everything else is the same.

How it compares

• Rolex 4130: its direct predecessor in the 116500LN and 116520. Same 72-hour reserve, layout and 4 Hz beat, but a conventional escapement and more parts.
• Omega 3861: the Speedmaster Moonwatch's hand-wound chronograph. About 50 hours, lateral clutch, Master Chronometer certified, and you wind it yourself.
• Tudor MT5813: the Black Bay Chrono's column-wheel, vertical-clutch chronograph, with about 70 hours of reserve and a date.
• TAG Heuer Heuer 02: another column-wheel, vertical-clutch automatic chronograph, with a longer 80-hour reserve, in the Carrera and Monaco.
• Hamilton H-51: a very different take on the chronograph, hand-wound and cam-operated, with 60 hours of reserve, in the Intra-Matic Chronograph H.
• Zenith El Primero 400: the base of the pre-2000 Daytona calibre 4030. Faster 5 Hz beat and a date, but less reserve.

For the other long-reserve newcomer from 2023 onwards, see TAG Heuer's time-and-date TH31.

Living with the 72-hour reserve

Seventy-two hours is exactly three days. Take a fully wound Daytona 126500LN off at 6pm on Friday and it will still be running at 6pm on Monday. An ordinary weekend is easy; a three-day weekend works only if it went into the drawer full.

The Daytona is also a watch many owners rotate rather than wear daily, and a gold or platinum Daytona often spends longer in the safe than on the wrist. After a week off it will have stopped. There's no date to reset, so restarting it means a hand wind and setting the time, but a watch that stops and starts often is still one you'll be fiddling with. If the 126500LN had only a short desk day before the weekend, it may also stop sooner than 72 hours. Watch Winder counts down this 72-hour reserve for each watch you own and reminds you before it stops. To check a particular weekend or trip, try the "Will my watch stop?" calculator.

Verdict

The 4131 is a careful update of a movement that was already one of the best automatic chronographs made. It keeps the 4130's column wheel, vertical clutch and 72-hour reserve, and adds the Chronergy escapement, fewer parts and better resistance to magnetism, with Rolex's -2/+2 s/day tested after casing. It won't run any longer than the 4130, but it's the more robust, more modern version of the same idea. If you've got a 126500LN, the movement is not something you'll ever need to think about beyond winding it and screwing the pushers down.

FAQ

How long does a Rolex Daytona 126500LN run off the wrist?

About 72 hours from a full wind, or three days, according to Rolex. If it was only partly wound when you took it off, it will stop sooner.

How accurate is the Rolex Daytona 126500LN?

Rolex tests every 126500LN after casing to -2/+2 seconds a day, its Superlative Chronometer standard. The movement is also COSC-certified before casing.

What's the difference between the Rolex 4130 and 4131?

The 4131, introduced in 2023, keeps the 4130's column wheel, vertical clutch and 72-hour reserve. It adds the Chronergy escapement, uses fewer parts and has a redesigned rotor and new decoration.

Does the Rolex Daytona hack?

Yes. Pulling the crown out to set the time stops the small seconds hand at 6 o'clock.

Will my Rolex Daytona stop over the weekend?

Not if it was fully wound. A full Daytona runs about 72 hours, enough for Friday evening to Monday evening, but one that started the weekend half-wound can stop on Sunday or Monday morning.

Can you see the movement in the platinum Rolex Daytona 126506?

Yes. The platinum 126506 has a sapphire case back showing the calibre 4131 with its gold rotor. Steel and most gold Daytonas have a solid case back.

Can I leave the Daytona chronograph running?

Yes. Thanks to the vertical clutch, running the chronograph has little effect on timekeeping, though it adds some wear to the chronograph parts over the years.

Sources

• Rolex: Cosmograph Daytona 126500LN specifications
• Rolex: Cosmograph Daytona, all models
• Monochrome: Everything that changed on the steel Rolex Daytona 126500LN
• Fratello: A quick hands-on with the updated and slimmed-down Rolex Daytona
• Fratello: The Rolex Daytona 24 Hours of Le Mans (calibre 4132)

Keeping it running

• On an average day an automatic gains roughly 4 hours of reserve per hour on the wrist, so about 18 hours of wear fills the Rolex 4131. Desk days charge more slowly.
• Most automatics can also be wound by the crown. If yours has stopped, a few dozen turns gets it going before you put it on.
• Off the wrist it stops about 72 hours after it was last full.
• If it does stop, don't set the date between 9pm and 3am. Here's why.

Never let it stop

Watch Winder counts down the reserve of every watch you own and reminds you before one stops. It already knows the Rolex 4131: type your watch's name and the reserve fills itself in.

Manufacturer's published figure. Real reserve varies with the watch's age and service; check your manual.