Singer Justin Bieber spotted wearing a Rolex

Justin Bieber was recently spotted wearing one of the most talked-about vintage Rolex references a serious collector can own: the Day-Date 18038 in 18k yellow gold, dialed in what the market calls 'Bloodstone' — a naturally occurring dark green chalcedony jasper streaked with vivid red flecks of iron oxide. No two bloodstone dials are identical, which means every example of this reference is, in a very literal sense, a one-of-a-kind object.

The Rolex Day-Date 18038 was produced from roughly 1978 to 1990, powered by the caliber 3055 — a self-winding movement with a 36,000 vph beat rate, quickset date, and Rolex's proprietary day-display mechanism. The 36mm case is crafted entirely in 18k yellow gold, consistent with Rolex's founding principle for the Day-Date line: since its 1956 debut, the model has been offered exclusively in precious metals. No steel, no titanium — yellow gold, white gold, Everose gold, and platinum only. That exclusivity is written into the DNA of the reference.

Among Day-Date collectors, semi-precious and hardstone dials occupy a category of their own, and bloodstone ranks at the very top of that hierarchy. The combination of the rich green ground and the scattered crimson inclusions gives the dial an almost geological drama that no lacquer or enamel can replicate. Finding an 18038 with an original, unrestored bloodstone dial in clean condition is genuinely difficult — examples surface rarely at auction and move almost immediately when they do.

Bieber has demonstrated a consistent interest in high-end watchmaking over the years, with a collection that spans modern sports references to vintage dress pieces. Choosing the Day-Date 18038 bloodstone signals something beyond impulse buying — this is a watch that requires knowledge to seek out and patience to acquire.

On the current grey market, a clean Rolex Day-Date 18038 with an authentic bloodstone dial commands approximately $95,000, a figure that reflects both the scarcity of the dial and sustained collector demand. Official retail pricing no longer applies to vintage references of this nature, but the trajectory for rare hardstone Day-Dates has been consistently upward over the past decade.