Rolex Zenith Daytona 16520 U Series Original vs Service Dial

watch_my_six

Hi, I'm looking for help determining the dial status of this Zenith Daytona. I gather that U series are from ~1998, which is also reportedly the year that Rolex switched from tritium to luminova. So were there both tritium and luminova dials originally fitted to U series 16520s?

watch_my_six

If so, if an example has a luminova dial, is there any way to tell whether it is an originally fitted dial vs. a service replacement?

blueteg

U-serial Daytonas (and even some early A-serial) are considered transitional so the luminova dial on yours would still be considered correct for a U-serial, particularly if it is a late U-serial.

If the dial was replaced more recently, it might show up as a service line item on one of the newer Rolex service cards with the NFC chip. Otherwise there is no definitive way to determine (that I'm aware of) to say for certain if your Daytona left the factory with a tritium or super luminova dial.

Pic of my late U-serial, 16520 Daytona with "tritinova" dial:

watch_my_six

do you know approximately when the service cards started using NFC chips?