Watch Paparazzi

Actor Mark Wahlberg spotted wearing Rolex

Mark Wahlberg has built a reputation for wearing watches that mean business, and the Rolex Submariner Date in 18k yellow gold, reference 116618LN, is precisely that kind of statement piece. The sighting adds the Boston-born actor to a long list of entertainers who gravitate toward Rolex's most theatrically luxurious take on its foundational sports model.

The Submariner Date 116618LN is constructed entirely in 18k yellow gold — case, crown, and Oyster bracelet — and features a unidirectional rotating bezel set with a black Cerachrom ceramic insert. The black dial carries applied hour markers in gold and luminous Chromalight fill, while the movement inside is Rolex's Calibre 3135, a self-winding manufacture movement running at 28,800 vph with a 48-hour power reserve and Rolex's Parachrom hairspring for improved shock and magnetic resistance. Water resistance sits at 300 metres, preserving every functional credential of the original 1953 Submariner design.

The reference 116618LN was introduced in 2008, replacing the earlier 16618, and remained in production until 2020 when Rolex launched the current-generation 126618LN with the updated Calibre 3235 and a slightly larger 41mm case. That transition into discontinued status has sharpened collector interest in the 116618 generation considerably. The yellow gold Submariner occupies a peculiar and enviable niche: it is simultaneously a working dive watch certified to serious depth ratings and an 18k gold luxury object of the first order, a tension Rolex has always worn comfortably.

Wahlberg's taste in watches has tended toward bold, high-visibility pieces that complement an image built around physical discipline and commercial ambition. The all-gold Submariner fits that profile precisely — it reads immediately on the wrist and requires no explanation to anyone familiar with Rolex's hierarchy.

On the secondary market, the 116618LN commands strong premiums over its original retail positioning. With UK list pricing around £22,900 at the time of its production run, grey-market values have climbed well beyond that figure as the reference aged into discontinuation. Buyers seeking yellow gold Submariner provenance at the 40mm case size now look specifically to the 116618LN as the last of that generation.