Basketball player Jimmy Butler spotted wearing a Rolex

Jimmy Butler was recently spotted on the wrist with one of Rolex's most visually commanding references — the Submariner 116659SABR in 18kt white gold, factory-set with blue sapphires across the bezel and diamonds crowning the lugs. For a player who has built a reputation as one of the NBA's most independently minded athletes, the choice of one of the brand's rarest and most technically demanding gem-set sports watches feels entirely consistent.

The Rolex Submariner reference 116659SABR sits at the absolute apex of the Submariner family. The 41mm case and bracelet are rendered entirely in 18kt white gold — a material Rolex machines and finishes to its own exacting standards. The rotatable bezel, normally home to the brand's Cerachrom ceramic insert, is here replaced by a fully gem-set unit carrying calibrated blue sapphires channel-set around the full 60-minute track, while round brilliant-cut diamonds are individually set into each lug. Beneath the dial — itself blue with applied white gold hour markers — beats the Calibre 3135, Rolex's workhorse self-winding movement carrying a COSC chronometer certification, a 48-hour power reserve, and the brand's proprietary Parachrom hairspring. Water resistance is rated to 300 metres, which is almost an afterthought at this price point.

From a collector standpoint, the 116659SABR occupies a genuinely rare position. Rolex produces factory gem-set pieces in comparatively tiny numbers, and the combination of sports-watch architecture with haute joaillerie stone-setting has made this reference a trophy piece for serious collectors — not a fashion buy. The fact that every stone is selected and set by Rolex's own gem department in Geneva, rather than by a third-party diamond house, gives the 116659SABR a provenance and consistency that aftermarket-set Submariners simply cannot claim.

Jimmy Butler's watch game has long been documented. The six-time All-Star has shown consistent preference for Rolex at the high end of the catalogue, and the 116659SABR is exactly the kind of statement that rewards close inspection — understated in silhouette, extraordinary in detail.

On the current market, the Rolex Submariner 116659SABR carries a UK list price in the region of £85,000. Grey-market values for white gold gem-set Rolex references have remained robust, with demand from collectors in the Middle East, Asia, and the US keeping premiums firmly above retail. Availability through authorised dealers is effectively zero.