Watch Paparazzi

Youtuber Tom Exton spotted wearing Artisans De Genève

Tom Exton, the British YouTube personality and co-founder of luxury streetwear brand TGE London, was photographed at what appears to be a beachside restaurant, sipping espresso with a remarkably rare piece on his wrist. The watch in question is a bespoke Artisans De Genève custom Submariner — not a standard catalogue offering, but a singular commission originally requested by Italian football legend Andrea Pirlo, widely regarded as one of the finest midfielders of his generation.

Artisans De Genève, the Geneva-based atelier founded in 2014, has built a reputation for doing what Rolex itself will not: opening up the movement. In this case, the donor watch is a Rolex Submariner housing the automatic cal. 3130 — Rolex's workhorse 31-jewel movement featuring a Parachrom hairspring and Paraflex shock absorbers — which has been painstakingly skeletonized by hand to expose the gear train, balance wheel, and barrel in full view through an open dial. Rose-gold plated bridges and blued screws add chromatic contrast against the steel architecture. The bezel insert has been replaced with a forged carbon fibre unit, a material choice that both reduces weight and introduces a distinctive woven texture visible even in photographs.

From a collector standpoint, this piece occupies rarefied territory. Artisans De Genève does not manufacture watches; they transform existing Rolex references through hand-finishing, case modification, and movement work that would void any manufacturer warranty — a trade-off serious collectors consciously accept. The atelier's commissions typically run between CHF 15,000 and CHF 50,000 on top of the donor watch's value, depending on complexity. A full skeleton with carbon integration sits firmly at the upper end of that range.

The Pirlo provenance adds an entirely separate layer of significance. Andrea Pirlo is himself a known watch enthusiast, and a commission bearing his personal brief carries obvious cultural cachet beyond the horological. That Exton — entrepreneur, content creator, and man with a documented appreciation for serious watches — is wearing it speaks to the tight network within which pieces like this circulate.

On the secondary market, comparable Artisans De Genève skeleton Submariner builds have traded between $35,000 and $65,000 USD depending on documentation, provenance, and the specific configuration. A piece with a celebrity commission story attached commands a premium that no grey-market index can fully capture.